KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 — Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Tan Sri Azam Baki’s purchase and ownership of shares in a publicly-listed company is in the spotlight now, so what are the Malaysian government’s rules for the buying and owning of shares by civil servants?

To recap, Azam has said he had declared his shares in Velocity Capital Partner Berhad according to government regulations when he bought it last year and that he no longer owns them.

A government source has said Azam did not breach government regulations on how much shares can be owned by a public officer.

What is the controversy?

On Tuesday, news agency Bloomberg reported that Velocity Capital’s annual filing last year with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) showed Azam had 17.7 million shares in the company and that it would be worth close to RM800,000 as of Monday.

But Bloomberg also said the latest annual filing for this year had not been filed yet.

On Tuesday, Pandan MP Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli suggested that this would be a breach of a 2002 government circular, which he said states that a civil servant cannot own shares worth more than RM100,000.

How has Azam and the MACC responded?

On Tuesday, MACC in a statement said public officers declare their assets through official channels to the relevant authorities.

MACC said Azam had fully complied with these asset declaration requirements, including by declaring to the Public Service Department (JPA) through the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) on these items:

• his income sources;
• his acquisition and disposal of assets (including shares).

Yesterday, Azam in a statement said he had properly declared his shareholding in Velocity Capital to the JPA via the HRMIS in 2025, and this was done according to public service regulations.

“They were acquired and fully disposed of within the same year. I do not hold any such shares at present,” he said.

Azam said it is “misleading” to say that he did not publicly declare his assets, saying that Malaysia’s public officers declare their assets through established administrative procedures instead of “ad hoc public disclosure”.

“Declarations are made through official channels to the Public Service Department (JPA) including my sources of income, and I have complied fully with those requirements throughout my service,” he said.

As for questions on how he as a civil servant could afford RM800,000 worth of shares, Azam said he could afford it with his income as a long-serving and high-ranking officer, and it is not against the law for any Malaysian to buy shares with legitimate remuneration.

“As a government officer who has served the civil service for more than 40 years with a Gred Utama Turus II, my pensions and gratuity plus salary and savings are more than enough to cover my share purchases.

“All my assets are declared in a timely manner — my sources of income, salaries, assets — and there are no questions arising on how I can afford to buy shares, as long as no laws are contravened,” he said.

What is the government’s rule on shareholding limits by civil servants?

On JPA’s website, there is an 182-page 2024 circular on the code of conduct and management of public officers’ discipline.

In this circular, the section called “Ceraian UP. 7.2.6” says it explains and serves as a guide on public officers’ ownership and declaration of assets.

Ceraian UP. 7.2.6 includes a subsection called “Panduan Pemilikan Harta Tertentu” (Guide to ownership of certain assets), and covers three categories including “Share purchases”.

Specifically, paragraph 17(i) under the “Share purchases” category says that a public officer can buy shares, subject to conditions, including this condition:

A public officer can only buy shares in any company incorporated in Malaysia:

• if it does not exceed five per cent of the paid-up capital; or
• if it does not exceed RM100,000 at current value, whichever is lower.

(Note: The 2002 circular that Rafizi mentioned has since been replaced by this 2024 circular, but the 2002 circular also states the same guideline on the five per cent and RM100,000 limits.) 

Azam’s shares in Velocity Capital

Do note that Azam has said he no longer holds any shares in Velocity Capital, but let’s take a look at how the guidelines apply to his situation in the past.

Based on the Companies Commission of Malaysia’s (CCM) records on Velocity Capital, the company as of December 26, 2025 had total issued ordinary shares of 1,381,410,560, and had stated multiple shareholders — including Azam as holding 17,700,000 shares at that time.

Based on calculations, this would put Azam’s shareholding as having 1.28 per cent of the total Velocity Capital shares then.

Based on these CCM records as of December 2025, a government source said Azam’s shareholding at that time was below the five per cent limit in JPA’s guidelines.

About the RM100,000 limit

What about the JPA guideline that a public officer’s share ownership should not be worth more than RM100,000 in any single company?

A government source said this is not a statutory prohibition aimed at making it a crime for public officers to own shares or carry out legitimate investment activity, and said it is instead an administrative guideline aimed at managing risk exposure and conflict of interest.

Among other things, the government source said the value of shares in public listed companies can go up and down in the stock market, and said it would be irrational and unworkable if the RM100,000 threshold is applied literally to shares in public listed companies.

The government source said this is because this would cause public officers to perpetually be non-compliant because of routine market fluctuations of share prices, and would mean public officers cannot hold even minimal shares in public listed companies.

Ultimately, the government source concluded that there was no breach of the shareholding guidelines in Azam’s case, in relation to the Velocity Capital shares.

You can access the full 2024 circular here: https://myppsm.jpa.gov.my/#gsc.tab=0

Or go straight to paragraph 17(i) in Ceraian UP. 7.2.6 here: https://docs.jpa.gov.my/docs/myppsm/PPSM/UP/Tatakelakuan-dan-Pengurusan-Tatatertib-Pegawai-Awam/100/