They said MACC’s Anti-Corruption Advisory Board (ACAB) chairman Abu Zahar Ujang’s comments were entirely his personal view.

“We categorically wish to state that the board members at the meeting or at any time thereafter did not express such opinion as Abu Zahar attributed to,” they said in a statement.

According to them, prior to the press conference on Wednesday, they had a separate discussion with Abu Zahar and proposed the matter to be further referred to an independent committee, the Parliamentary Special Committee on Corruption, or the MACC’s Complaints Panel.

However, they said their views and proposals were not raised by Abu Zahar at the press conference.

“The ACAB has no investigation power as it is established only as an Advisory Board.

“We need to provide this clarification in order to safeguard the integrity of the Board and the institution,” they said.

The six advisory board members who issued the joint statement were Akhbar Satar, Ismail Omar, Azman Ujang, Hamzah Kassim, David Chua Kok Tee and Mohammad Agus Yusoff.

At the press conference, Abu Zahar said the ACAB had cleared Azam of any wrongdoing, saying the purchase of shares by his brother was not a conflict of interest.

Azam was also reported to have said that his superiors were informed when he allowed his brother, Nasir, to buy shares using his trading account in 2015 – when he headed the MACC’s investigations division.

The announcement was met with outrage from several quarters, who called out the lack of independence in the inquiry process.

Among them was Cynthia Gabriel, the executive director of the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4), who said the ACAB’s inquiry did not amount to “an independent probe to ascertain the truth and details”.

“Only an independent probe will suffice to clear his (Azam’s) name and restore the integrity of the MACC,” she told FMT.

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