KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 — PKR’s Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli said he will formally approach electoral reform group Bersih to organise a rally expressing dissatisfaction with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) following allegations raised in a Bloomberg report.

According to Free Malaysia Today, Rafizi said he had received messages from several individuals urging him to spearhead a protest, but maintained that Bersih would be better placed to take the lead and determine a suitable date. 

He added that the gathering could potentially be the first to be held during the fasting month.

The move comes after Bloomberg reported that MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki held 17.7 million shares, or a 1.7 per cent stake, in Velocity Capital Bhd based on the company’s annual return filed on February 3 last year. 

The report also stated that his name appeared in the shareholder register maintained by the Companies Commission of Malaysia.

Azam has been accused of breaching a 2024 government circular that caps civil servants’ shareholdings in Malaysian-incorporated companies at five per cent of paid-up capital or RM100,000 in value, whichever is lower. 

He has said the transaction was declared and that the shares were disposed of last year. Azam has also filed a RM100 million suit against Bloomberg over the report.

In a separate article, Bloomberg alleged that MACC had worked with certain businessmen “to support the interests of private citizens by threatening, arresting and detaining executives, sometimes recommending charges against them”.

The commission rejected claims that its investigations were influenced by private interests, stating that all probes were conducted “strictly in accordance with the law, guided by evidence, and carried out independently without fear or favour”.

Echoing Rafizi’s concerns, PKR MPs issued a joint press statement describing Bloomberg’s disclosures as grave and warning they evoked memories of the 1MDB scandal. 

They said the allegations — ranging from money laundering and interference in police cases to collusion between MACC and businessmen — justified an immediate, independent investigation.

The MPs announced a series of measures to press for accountability, including writing to fellow lawmakers across party lines to demand Azam’s suspension, urging MPs to brief constituents on the allegations, and appealing to DAP and Amanah leaders to use their influence within government to push Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to act. 

They also said they would lodge a police report against Azam over claims of interference in a firearms case.

They stressed that attempts to evade or cover up the matter would only deepen public anger, adding that it was their duty to voice these demands on behalf of Malaysians. 

Rafizi further indicated that he intends to lodge a police report after the Chinese New Year celebrations over allegations, cited in the Bloomberg report, that Azam had interfered in a case.

Earlier reports said a separate rally has been planned by the #TangkapAzamBaki Secretariat, which is scheduled to gather in front of the Sogo shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur to call for Azam’s resignation, an investigation into the allegations, and the revocation of his adjunct professor title at public universities.

A similar protest was held in January 2022 following earlier reports concerning Azam’s share trading activities.