The lawyer for businessperson Albert Tei has said that MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki must resign or go on garden leave after the latter was implicated in a case involving a former senior aide to the prime minister, Shamsul Iskandar Akin.

“In these circumstances, the only lawful and credible options available to Azam are to resign, recuse himself, or take immediate garden leave pending the appointment of an independent and truly impartial investigative body.

“This is not a matter of opinion or politics. It is a matter of law.

“At this critical moment, will the government uphold the rule of law, or continue down the path of rule by law?” Mahajoth Singh asked in a statement today.

In a video exposé on Nov 25, a woman claiming to be Shamsul’s proxy said the PKR leader had met with Azam at an undisclosed time to ask the MACC chief to “settle” Tei’s case, referring to the Sabah mining scandal.

“He (Shamsul) himself asked (Azam) to try and ease your case, try to settle it as best as possible, don’t let it drag out,” the woman said.

The woman said that Shamsul, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s political secretary at that time, had met with Azam, as he too was implicated in the Sabah scandal and was summoned by the MACC chief.

“He (Shamsul) told Azam that he did help you to meet with (Sabah caretaker chief minister) Hajiji (Noor) and all that,” she said.

Later, when asked by Tei whether Shamsul had told the MACC chief that the Sabah scandal recordings were “PMX’s orders”, the woman replied: “Azam knows.”

PAS backs Azam’s recusal

Yesterday, PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari said Azam and MACC should be recused from investigating the matter, regardless of whether the allegations are true or false.

On that note, Mahajoth said that MACC cannot lawfully or credibly investigate the allegations as long as Azam remains the head of the commission.

He also said that such investigations would be structurally tainted, legally questionable, and fundamentally contrary to the interests of justice and public confidence.

Mahajoth Singh (left) and Albert Tei

“When the head of an investigative agency becomes personally entangled in the allegations under scrutiny, that agency can no longer conduct a credible, impartial, or lawful investigation so long as that individual remains in office.

“This principle is firmly grounded in judicial authority. Past legal precedents hold that where the investigating agency is itself allegedly involved in the controversy, the investigation must be transferred to an independent body to maintain credibility and public confidence,” Mahajoth stressed.

‘Conspiracy’

Earlier today, the woman, now identified as Sofia Rini Buyong, denied being a proxy to Shamsul and stressed that she had never met Anwar regarding the allegations made by Tei.

“This looks like a conspiracy to smear Anwar and Shamsul’s names.

“It also looks like a plan to unseat the government in an undemocratic way,” Sofia added.

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