A Srimurugan said any other legal process would delay such an investigation and be a waste of time and an exercise in futility.

“Only the public prosecutor can frame charges to prove his case in court based on an investigation conducted by an agency clothed with legal powers,” he said.

Such agencies include the police, the MACC and the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC).

He said this in response to Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi, who had urged Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to form a special task force to investigate allegations against Azam over the issue of corporate share ownership.

DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang had said the controversy surrounding Azam would have been better resolved if the MACC chief was prepared to appear before the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Agencies in the Prime Minister’s Department to clear himself of claims of conflict of interest.

The Malaysian Bar Council has also called for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to be set up to investigate the allegations against Azam.

Last week, MACC’s Anti-Corruption Advisory Board (ACAB) chairman Abu Zahar Ujang said the board had cleared Azam of any wrongdoing.

However, six ACAB members later distanced themselves from Abu Zahar’s view, saying the board did not have any investigation powers.

Azam is being investigated on whether he broke any laws over the ownership of shares in public-listed companies and for allowing his trading account to be used by his brother in 2015.

The SC has said it would question him on the matter.

Srimurugan said a probe against Azam could be completed faster if it was carried out by a law enforcement agency which had the power to arrest and seize documents.

He said an RCI, for example, could only act based on terms of reference drawn up by the government and could only provide findings for further action by a law enforcement agency and the public prosecutor.

“This is going to be a waste of time and resources as an RCI never makes a decision,” he said, adding that past inquiries into public interest issues left much to be desired.