Azam's contract extended by a year
PETALING JAYA : Azam Baki's tenure as head of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has been extended by one year, the chief secretary to the government Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar announced.
Shamsul said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim, had consented to Azam's reappointment for a one-year term effective May 13, Bernama reported.
Azam's contract has been extended twice since he took office in March 2020. He was given a one-year extension on May 10, 2023, and another one-year extension last year.
Azam, who was then deputy chief commissioner, took the top job in 2020 following the resignation of Latheefa Koya, after the fall of the former Pakatan Harapan government.
In late 2021, Azam made headlines following allegations that he owned shares and warrants. He denied any wrongdoing, but several watchdog groups and PH leaders called for an investigation to be opened
However, then law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the issue was resolved after the Securities Commission Malaysia decided that there was no case.
After the formation of the unity coalition government in December 2022, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim defended his decision not to replace Azam, saying he wanted to break the convention that a change of guard in the agency was necessary whenever a new prime minister was appointed.
Last month, Anwar said the government had not yet made a decision on whether to extend Azam's contract, which was set to expire this month.
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