60 at rally to demand stepping down of MACC chief
Participants at the rally calling for MACC chief Azam Baki to resign.
KUALA LUMPUR : Some 60 protesters marched to Dataran Merdeka tonight to call for Azam Baki, who recently had his tenure as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption commission chief extended, to step down.
The participants, who included representatives from NGOs such as rights group Suaram, electoral reform group Bersih and political parties like Muda and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), marched from the Sogo shopping complex just after 8pm.
Muda acting president Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz called for greater transparency from the government and not weaponise the anti-graft agency.
'This isn't the first time the people have gathered to reject Azam. Don't use MACC to protect ministers and their allies,' she told the crowd.
A representative from the National Youth Federation, Hamdin Nordin, said they were seeking an explanation over the decision to classify the investigation into the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock in 2009 as 'no further action'.
On May 22, the Attorney-General's Chambers said it had studied the police's fresh investigation paper and found a lack of evidence to pin Teoh's death on anyone.
Teoh was found dead on July 16, 2009 after falling from the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam after being questioned for several hours by MACC officers.
Azam had his tenure extended by a year, for the third time, earlier this month, drawing brickbats from anti-graft activists as well as PKR's Nurul Izzah Anwar, the daughter of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
The MACC chief, who first took office in 2020, was given a one-year extension on May 10, 2023, and another one-year extension last year.
Last night, Anwar defended the decision to extend Azam's contract, saying it would be difficult to find a successor bold enough to take down the 'big fish'.
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