PETALING JAYA: De facto law minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku's Jaafar's remarks on MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki's share trading controversy are disappointing as they sidestep the key questions in the issue, say four members of a Parliamentary Special Select Committee.

       "As the minister responsible for law, we regret that Wan Junaidi seems to have downplayed the seriousness of Azam’s actions by discussing the value of the shares at the time of purchase.

       "Wan Junaidi has justified the (matter) of shares held by Azam by saying that it is worth RM330,000 and therefore affordable," the MPs in the Special Select Committee for Agencies under the Prime Minister's Department said in a joint statement on Sunday (Jan 9).

       They are Chan Foong Hin (PH-Kota Kinabalu), Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka), Azis Jamman (Warisan-Sepanggar) and William Leong (PH-Selayang).

       Wan Junaidi had earlier commented that the shares in Azam's trading account in a public-listed company were not expensive when they were first purchased in 2016.

       The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law) explained that when the shares were bought in 2016, the one million shares were only valued at RM330,000, priced at between 30 sen and 33 sen per share.

       "Our question is, why does Wan Junaidi seem to be protecting Azam? The issue of buying these shares is not just an issue of affordability.

       "It is also a question of conflict of interest. It is also a question of integrity.

       "It is also a question of the deficit of the people's trust in the MACC as an eradicator of corruption. Wan Junaidi seems to have ignored all these questions," said the group.

       The MPs also pointed out that Wan Junaidi's statement about Azam himself being able to afford purchasing the shares with his own salary did not match the chief commissioner's own claims that it was his brother who used his account to buy the shares.

       "We note that the Special Committee on Corruption (established legally under Section 14 of the Malaysian Anti -Corruption Commission Act 2009) headed by the Speaker of the Senate Tan Sri Rais Yatim will take action on this issue.

       "Our question is, when will it be the turn of the Special Select Committee on Agencies under the Prime Minister's Department, led by Kuala Krai MP Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman of PAS?" their statement added.

       They also questioned why their call to hold a Special Select Committee hearing on the Azam matter was set aside.

       "How can parliamentary democracy in Malaysia work if the (committee) cannot carry out its duties independently without having to seek approval from the executive?" the MPs said.

       On Wednesday (Jan 5), Azam told a media conference that he had explained to the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board that he had given his younger brother permission to use his trading account to acquire shares in the open market some time in 2015.

       Azam also said he had informed his superiors about the matter at the time, and his brother transferred the shares to his own account a year later.

       Allegations recently surfaced that Azam owned a substantial number of shares in Gets Global Bhd as well as Excel Force MSC Bhd between 2015 and 2016 when he was the MACC director of investigations.

       Azam has maintained that he did not commit any wrongdoing.