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Key Highlights
Haters gonna hate - Azam Baki unfazed
PKR’s ‘enduring friendships’ and grounded chairs
Teoh Beng Hock - NFA and broken promises
Haters gonna hate - Azam Baki unfazed
Azam Baki, whose tenure as MACC chief commissioner has been extended for a record third time, is under no illusion about his popularity or the lack thereof.
But the 62-year-old graftbuster is not losing sleep over it.
“I know that people do not like me. This is a free country,” he said when asked about an upcoming protest against him.
The protest, organised by Sekretariat Undur Azam Baki (Step Down Azam Baki Secretariat), aims to express public dissatisfaction over his continued leadership.
That his reappointment comes under a prime minister and coalition who had previously been vocal critics has raised eyebrows, prompting speculation that Azam may have some political leverage over those in power.
And the chorus of discontent even includes the prime minister’s own daughter, who called the extension “unwelcome”.
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PKR’s ‘enduring friendships’ and grounded chairs
As the PKR election enters its final stretch, deputy president hopeful Nurul Izzah Anwar praised Rafizi Ramli, assuring that their friendship remains strong despite the heated contest.
To lighten the mood, party information chief Fahmi Fadzil quipped he was relieved the polls stayed free of flying chairs and broken ballot boxes - true to Nurul Izzah’s “peace” campaign.
Sharing the stage with her, Fahmi couldn’t resist a subtle jab at Rafizi’s “Hiruk” campaign, adding, “My only regret is that at the central level, in the past week or two, it became a bit too ‘noisy’ (hiruk-pikuk).”
Nurul Izzah, daughter of PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, emphasised she is running on her own merit and not riding on her father’s coattails.
“They call it nepotism, but I never used power. Every step I took was my own - on the streets, among the people, fighting for true justice,” she said.
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Teoh Beng Hock - NFA and broken promises
The authorities have classified the police investigations into the death of former DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock as “NFA” (No Further Action), much to the disappointment and anguish of his family.
His sister Teoh Lee Lan said the outcome fails to reflect the promises previously made by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Beng Hock’s death in 2009, when being questioned overnight by the MACC, has been a significant point of contention and campaign rhetoric for Anwar and his coalition for more than a decade.
Despite Anwar now serving as prime minister and Pakatan Harapan leading the government, his family questioned whether they remain “trapped in the era of BN’s rule”.
“The same MACC remains unaccountable. The same police force refuses to investigate the MACC. The same opaque conclusions are drawn, and the same murderers walk free.
“On Aug 1 last year, Anwar urged the Teoh family to trust the ‘new police force’ and the ‘new system’ under his administration. But what has this so-called ‘new system’ brought to the Teoh family? Only continued disappointment,” said Lee Lan.
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