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New Straits Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
MACC may question more people after Ismail Sabri's former son-in-law
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian graft busters may need to call other people in for questioning once they speak to the former son-in-law of Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said, aside from Datuk Jovian Mandagie, anyone else named by the former prime minister in statements to the commission would be called in to have their statements recorded. "The appointment for the statement recording in Indonesia has been scheduled for a few days after Hari Raya Haji. "It's not the final piece of the puzzle... there are still other pieces of evidence we need to gather," he told the New Straits Times . Azam added that MACC was still analysing and verifying the assets Ismail Sabri had declared to it. He said the commission was also scrutinising and conducting further investigation on the "defences" Ismail Sabri has put forward. "Anyone he has named will be called in to give a statement. There are also several banking documents that we have yet to obtain," he said. It was reported that MACC officials are expected to travel to Indonesia within the next two weeks to record a statement from Jovian, who is a former son-in-law of Ismail Sabri. The trip was necessary to verify certain assets declared by the former prime minister on Feb 10. He had named Jovian, who is currently residing in Indonesia, as one of the witnesses. The MACC was expected to complete the investigation by the end of next month. Ismail Sabri has been summoned multiple times to the MACC headquarters over allegations of corruption and money laundering. The case revolves around spending and the acquisition of funds for the promotion and publicity of the Keluarga Malaysia programme during his tenure as prime minister from August 2021 to November 2022. The current investigation is a continuation of the directive for Ismail Sabri to submit an asset declaration under Section 36(1) of the MACC Act 2009. On Wednesday, Azam revealed the RM177 million seized in a case linked to the ninth prime minister is the largest sum he has seen in his 42-year career.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
MACC: RM177m seizure among largest in Azam Baki's career
PETALING JAYA: The Chief Commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Tan Sri Azam Baki, recently confirmed that the RM177 million cash seizure in an investigation involving Malaysia's ninth Prime Minister is among the largest he has encountered in his entire career. Azam added that the RM53.3 million in cash found during the 2016 investigation into the Sabah State Water Department scandal is a close second—ranking among the largest amounts of cash seized during his 42-year tenure with the anti-graft agency. While he did not explicitly name Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob in reference to the probe, he stated that the volume of cash seized was so substantial that it produced what he referred to as the 'scent of money', as quoted from Harian Metro. 'Money is like a magnetic force that can cause a person to lose their moral compass and integrity, because when given a choice, they will always choose money. 'I still remember during a press conference in October 2016, I saw so much cash placed in a room at the MACC office in Sabah. Even if there had been faeces there, it wouldn't have had a smell, because the scent that filled the room was the 'fragrant smell of money',' he was quoted as saying. Azam also addressed allegations of 'selective investigations', which were raised during a press conference in March regarding the Ismail Sabri case. 'I responded: just look at the cash laid out on the table—does this look like a selective investigation?' Azam was quoted as saying. At the press conference, the MACC displayed around RM170 million in cash in various international currencies, along with 16 kilogrammes of pure gold bars worth nearly RM7 million. The items were displayed following the MACC's disclosure that hundreds of millions in cash and valuables had been seized from three premises, including a 'safehouse', in connection with a corruption and money laundering case reportedly involving Ismail Sabri. The seized cash included various currencies, such as Baht, Riyal, Pound Sterling, Won, Euro, Swiss Franc, and Yuan. Azam also commented on the recent meeting of the Special Committee on Corruption (JKMR), where he acknowledged being questioned about allegations of systemic corruption in Malaysia. 'They asked me, and I responded — the corruption we are seeing today stems from past influences, such as upbringing by family members, personal attitudes, and the environments in which we were educated. In the past, we had leaders with the will to fight corruption, which led to the formation of the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA). 'But once the national economy began to boom, and many people became wealthy through gains from the stock market, the pursuit of material wealth intensified. 'That was when integrity became a secondary concern. We also started teaching our children to chase success and wealth, rather than encouraging them to become responsible and principled individuals,' he was quoted as saying.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
RM177m seized in PM9's case was the largest amount in career, says Azam Baki
PETALING JAYA: The Chief Commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Tan Sri Azam Baki, recently confirmed that the RM177 million cash seizure in an investigation involving Malaysia's ninth Prime Minister is among the largest he has encountered in his entire career. Azam added that the RM53.3 million in cash found during the 2016 investigation into the Sabah State Water Department scandal is a close second—ranking among the largest amounts of cash seized during his 42-year tenure with the anti-graft agency. While he did not explicitly name Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob in reference to the probe, he stated that the volume of cash seized was so substantial that it produced what he referred to as the 'scent of money', as quoted from Harian Metro. 'Money is like a magnetic force that can cause a person to lose their moral compass and integrity, because when given a choice, they will always choose money. 'I still remember during a press conference in October 2016, I saw so much cash placed in a room at the MACC office in Sabah. Even if there had been faeces there, it wouldn't have had a smell, because the scent that filled the room was the 'fragrant smell of money',' he was quoted as saying. Azam also addressed allegations of 'selective investigations', which were raised during a press conference in March regarding the Ismail Sabri case. 'I responded: just look at the cash laid out on the table—does this look like a selective investigation?' Azam was quoted as saying. At the press conference, the MACC displayed around RM170 million in cash in various international currencies, along with 16 kilogrammes of pure gold bars worth nearly RM7 million. The items were displayed following the MACC's disclosure that hundreds of millions in cash and valuables had been seized from three premises, including a 'safehouse', in connection with a corruption and money laundering case reportedly involving Ismail Sabri. The seized cash included various currencies, such as Baht, Riyal, Pound Sterling, Won, Euro, Swiss Franc, and Yuan. Azam also commented on the recent meeting of the Special Committee on Corruption (JKMR), where he acknowledged being questioned about allegations of systemic corruption in Malaysia. 'They asked me, and I responded — the corruption we are seeing today stems from past influences, such as upbringing by family members, personal attitudes, and the environments in which we were educated. In the past, we had leaders with the will to fight corruption, which led to the formation of the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA). 'But once the national economy began to boom, and many people became wealthy through gains from the stock market, the pursuit of material wealth intensified. 'That was when integrity became a secondary concern. We also started teaching our children to chase success and wealth, rather than encouraging them to become responsible and principled individuals,' he was quoted as saying.
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
RM177mil cash seizure among largest in agency's history
KAJANG: Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki revealed today the RM177 million seized in a case linked to the ninth prime minister is one of the largest sums he has seen in his 42-year career. He said the only comparable case was the RM53.3 million found during the 2016 Sabah Water Department scandal, previously the biggest in his experience. Azam made the remarks, without specifically naming Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, while launching Universiti Islam Selangor's (UIS) integrity policy. He said the massive amount of cash had a strong "scent of money." "I remember holding a press conference in October 2016 where I saw mountains of cash stacked in an MACC room in Sabah. Even if there had been faeces in that room, you wouldn't have smelled it because the only smell was that of money, sweet, tempting. At a March 3 press conference, the MACC displayed nearly RM170 million in foreign currencies and 16kg of gold bars worth almost RM7 million. The items were seized from three locations, including a "safe house", in a corruption and money laundering probe involving Ismail Sabri, according to the MACC. The cash was in currencies including Baht, Riyal, Pound, Won, Euro, Swiss Franc, and Yuan. Azam also addressed claims of selective prosecution made earlier this year. "I responded: just look at the money on the table, does this look like a case of selective prosecution?" he said. He said members of the Special Committee on Corruption recently questioned him about claims of systemic corruption in Malaysia. "I told them, the corruption we're seeing today stems from the values instilled in us by our families, our own attitudes, and the environments where we were educated. "We once had leaders determined to combat corruption, which led to the formation of the Anti-Corruption Agency (BPR). "But after the economy began to boom and more people amassed wealth from the share market, society began chasing material wealth. Integrity took a backseat. We even began raising our children to chase success and money rather than teaching them to be good and useful people," he said.
Daily Express
18-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Express
Political funding: Transparency must
Published on: Sunday, May 18, 2025 Published on: Sun, May 18, 2025 By: M Shanmugam Text Size: MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki (front, centre) showing cash amounting to RM170 million and some 16kg of gold bars worth almost RM7 million seized from the homes and houses of four former aides of Former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri (Photo by Shahrill Basri/The Edge) In a space of just four months, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has raided houses linked to two politicians and recovered millions. The first case was in Selangor in October last year, when MACC seized S$1.5 million from these places following the arrest of two persons, including a former executive of Mentri Besar Selangor Inc (MBI). Advertisement The money is reported to be graft paid to a prominent politician in relation to sand mining contracts in the state and meant for political purposes. Last week, MACC displayed RM177 million in cash and valuables seized from the houses during its investigations into four ex-aides of former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri. The investigations were in relation to the spending of RM700 million on promotional activities related to the Keluarga Malaysia campaign that Ismail ran during his tenure as prime minister. Interestingly, in both instances, the money seized was largely in foreign currency. In the Selangor case, it was mostly in Singapore dollars. As for cash seized last week, only 14 million was in ringgit. The rest was in foreign denominations. There were also gold bars worth RM16 million. Advertisement Why was the cash seized denominated mostly in foreign currency? Was it because the bulk of the money changed hands overseas? And how did so much cash in foreign currency find its way into the country? What's astounding is the vast amount of cash still swirling around politicians after the 2018 general election, especially when the possibility of a shift in political alignment arises. Hence, when the balance of power changes in Putrajaya, politicians who are not friendly with the government of the day but are holding vast amounts of cash that they cannot account for are easy targets. They can easily be implicated in offences related to money laundering and abuse of power. In the probe into the RM177 million case, Umno has distanced itself from the cash uncovered. This is very unlike the case involving the now-jailed Datuk Seri Najib Razak where more than RM114 million was found in a condominium in May 2018 after BN lost power. Apart from cash, police seized jewellery and valuables such as hand bags from Najib's house, estimated to be worth RM800 million. Umno and Najib had claimed that the money belonged to the party and not to the latter personally. According to reports, the money was returned in August 2021, which coincidentally was about the time Ismail took over as prime minister from Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. In both the Selangor MBI and Keluarga Malaysia cases, so far there is no single political party that has claimed the money. Irrespective of that, what would be more interesting to know is where the money came from and whether the source of income can be justified. In most such situations, the money is said to come from business individuals and corporations. In the past, Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary had been named as giving donations in cases involving Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Muhyiddin. Syed Mokhtar, through his companies, had donated to Zahid Hamidi's foundation and Bersatu, when Muhyiddin was its president. In Zahid's case, he was also charged with receiving bribes from three companies amounting to RM42 million for allegedly helping them obtain a MyEG Services Bhd (KL:MYEG) project. In the case of Umno treasurer Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, property developer Tan Sri Chai Kin Kong of Aset Kayamas Sdn Bhd was implicated in giving him political donations to the tune of RM2 million. The outcome of the cases against the politicians has been different in each situation. Ahmad Zahid was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) on charges related to criminal breach of trust and money laundering that allegedly was transacted via his foundation, Yayasan Akalbudi, in September 2023. In 2021, when the government was under the rule of Pakatan Harapan 1.0, Tengku Adnan's corruption case was dismissed. As for Muhyiddin, in September last year, the prosecution was successful in its appeal at the Court of Appeal to restore charges against him involving RM232.5 million. The charges were related to abuse of power when he was the prime minister between March 2000 and August 2021. Because of the differing outcomes, the current administration of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has come in for a lot of flak for allegedly practising selective prosecution. This is especially after Zahid's DNAA, which continues to haunt the Anwar administration. However, Anwar has defended himself against the allegations of selective prosecution, saying that he does not interfere with the judiciary and that the key people in charge when Zahid was given the DNAA were appointed by his predecessors. The present Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimum Tuan Mat was appointed in 2019 when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the prime minister. In 2023, when Zahid was given a DNAA, Tan Sri Idrus Harun was the attorney-general and Tan Sri Azam Baki the chief commissioner of MACC. Both were appointed in 2020 after Muhyiddin became the prime minister. It is still early days to understand how RM177 million in cash came to be in the possession of Ismail's aides. But what is clear is the need for legitimacy and transparency in political funding. The Political Funding Act, which has been much talked about, has yet to be tabled in parliament. Currently, matters related to political funding, such as donations, are governed largely by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act and Anti-Money Laundering Act. Both come under the purview of MACC, which is the most powerful and feared government agency these days. According to a political party treasurer, a general election would involve at least RM800 million being spent. This is on the basis that each division needs up to RM5 million before the election machinery starts to roll. There are 222 parliamentary seats and the total amount comes to more than RM1 billion. This is a lot of money to be transacted through opaque dealings in the name of donations. Which is why transparency in political funding is a necessity and no longer an option. M Shanmugam ([email protected]) is a contributing editor at The Edge The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express. If you have something to share, write to us at: [email protected]
