It said the royal commission should be set up “without delay” and tasked to investigate the serious accusations against Azam as the MACC’s Anti-Corruption Advisory Board had failed to do so.

The accusations were a matter of critical public importance, said the Bar Council, the professional body for lawyers.

“Any inaction may lead to distrust by the rakyat towards the authorities. We deserve leadership that can truly demonstrate its commitment to stamp out the scourge of corruption,” it said.

“The ACAB’s decision to conduct its own investigation, despite it being only an advisory body, shows that there is a desperate need to revamp the commission’s oversight mechanism,” it added.

Allegations about Azam’s extensive ownership of corporate stock surfaced in mid-December, prompting economist Edmund Terence Gomez to resign as a member of a MACC panel for its failure to discuss reports implicating top leaders at the anti-graft agency.

On Wednesday, Azam told the media that he had willingly allowed his younger brother to use his trading account. At the same press conference, ACAB said it accepted Azam’s explanation and cleared him of any wrongdoing over his purchase and ownership of shares in 2015.