Organisers say rally against Azam Baki to proceed despite announcement of new MACC chief

KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 — The “Tangkap Azam Baki” rally calling for action against outgoing Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Tan Sri Azam Baki will still proceed this afternoon despite his named replacement, its organisers said today.

Kelvin Lee, who is part of the rally’s secretariat, confirmed this when asked for a response to the Malaysian government’s announcement this morning of the appointment of a new MACC chief.

“The rally will proceed as planned, and our three demands still stand. We will officially respond during the rally,” Lee, who is also reform group Bersih’s deputy chairman, told Malay Mail when contacted.

Earlier today, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar announced that the new MACC chief from May 13 onwards would be Datuk Seri Abdul Halim Aman.

Azam has been the MACC chief since March 9, 2020, and had continued serving past the age of 60 with his term extended thrice through one-year contracts in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Azam, whose latest one-year contract expires on May 12, has recently faced controversies and allegations against him against him.

This afternoon at 3pm, “Tangkap Azam Baki” rally participants are expected to gather and march from the shopping mall Sogo to Dataran Merdeka.

The rally’s three demands are:

• the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to probe allegations of a “corporate mafia” in the country’s enforcement agencies;
• to have Azam arrested and a total reformation of the MACC; and
• to guarantee freedom of speech to civil society organisations, social activists, academics and the public who criticise corruption and misconduct.