Anwar’s aide implicated in corruption: Will the government ever get serious about corruption?

On 25 November, it was reported that businessman and whistleblower Albert Tei had released information purportedly linking Shamsul Iskandar Akin – political secretary to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim – to the Sabah mining scandal.

In a statement, Albert claimed that Shamsul had allegedly received RM629,000 from Albert after being assured he could recoup the money channelled to politicians in Sabah.

Albert also released a video allegedly showing Shamsul’s aide stating that Anwar had approved of Shamsul urging Albert to secretly record the Sabahan politicians.

The undersigned organisations and individuals are appalled by these allegations. We call for a thorough and transparent investigation into the case and demand the government deliver its reform promises that will prevent political abuses of power.

Shamsul has also been under fire for issuing a support letter in 2024 for contractors involved in a hospital project. Despite calls for him to be sacked, Anwar merely reprimanded Shamsul, while stating in Parliament that such forms of support were not allowed.

However, in response to mounting criticism, Shamsul resigned as Anwar’s political secretary – though he remains Malacca PKR chief.

Anwar later said he accepted the resignation, and he would not interfere with any possible investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Associates plagued with controversy

The allegations of corruption have disgraced Shamsul, but are also part of an increasingly unignorable culture of impunity within the leadership of the “Madani” [trustworthy] government. 

Despite constant reassurances that the Madani government is committed to anti-corruption efforts, numerous Anwar appointees and associates are tainted with corruption and mis-governance scandals yet remain in influential positions:

• Deputy PM Zahid Hamidi: Indicted with 47 corruption charges involving RM114m of Yayasan Akalbudi’s funds in 2018 – he was appointed deputy PM in 2022 and granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal in 2023.
• MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki: Alleged to have owned millions of shares in two listed companies, directly contravening public service regulations – he has been reappointed three times by Anwar since.
• Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz: Allegedly involved in the Jana Wibawa scandal, involving the misuse of RM600bn worth of public funds, with Mahiaddin Yasin claiming that Zafrul had proposed the project – he has subsequently joined PKR.
• Home Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail: Currently embroiled in a citizenship scandal involving forged documents and misleading parliamentary statements regarding seven ‘heritage’ footballers scouted to play for Malaysia.
• Federal Court Judge Ahmad Terrirudin: Allegedly attempted to influence judicial appointments and the outcome of court proceedings during his stint as attorney general – he has subsequently been appointed to the Judicial Appointments Commission by Anwar.
• Former political aide Farhash Wafa Salvador: The subject of major public scrutiny due to his involvement in questionable deals and influence involving HeiTech Padu.

Anwar thought it fit to merely reprimand Shamsul for his issuance of a support letter in a government procurement process.

Is the attempt to influence a government procurement process – especially considering Shamsul directly worked for one of the most powerful men in the country – not straightforward corruption?

Is Anwar’s meek and dismissive reprimand the type of transparent and accountable governance that he so often claims to champion?

If not for Albert’s latest revelations, would Shamsul have continued as Anwar’s political secretary?

An impartial investigation?

In response to this latest corruption scandal, Anwar has stated that “the MACC is free to investigate immediately without any outside interference”.

This announcement rings hollow when the MACC itself faces a major trust deficit.

• The chief commissioner is appointed by the agong on the advice of the prime minister as per Section 5(1) of the MACC Act 2009 read together with Article 40(1A) of the Federal Constitution, meaning it is not independent and vulnerable to influence from the executive.
• Current MACC chief Azam Baki has been the subject of public protest and criticism for his involvement in a shareholding scandal. Despite this, Anwar has renewed his term as chief commissioner three times.
• Bloomberg has alleged that Anwar instructed Azam not to open any investigations against Farhash for his suspicious share purchases, and instead investigate former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his sons, as well as former finance minister Daim Zainuddin.
• Anwar denied these claims and investigation papers against Bloomberg for criminal defamation were submitted to the Attorney General’s Chambers. However, the case was then classified as ‘no further action’ due to a lack of evidence.
• The MACC has been strongly criticised for its apparent failure to properly investigate politicians implicated in the Sabah corruption scandal – only two out of 15 have been charged in court, with nine contesting in the upcoming state election. 

In the light of this, is there any trust in the Madani government that it will act impartially and transparently communicate any investigation findings to the public?

Besieged with scandals 

Anwar took office on a platform of zero-tolerance towards corruption, and that maintaining good governance principles would be a top priority.

These statements have aged exceedingly poorly due to the Madani government being mired in scandal after scandal, many of them within the last year alone.

• Sabah mining scandal: 15 Sabah assembly members were implicated in corruption over the granting of mineral exploration rights and alleged to be taking bribes in exchange for concessions.
• Football Association of Malaysia: The FAM has been accused of submitting falsified documents to ensure the eligibility of seven foreign football players to represent the Malaysian national team.
• Selangor Intelligent Parking initiative: The PKR-led Selangor government facilitated the granting of parking management concessions by local councils to a private company found to have links to a member of the Selangor royalty.
• Adam Radlan’s acquittal: Despite facing 12 corruption charges under the Jawa Wibawa project, Segambut Bersatu deputy chief Adam Radlam was fully acquitted after only paying a compound of RM4.1m.
• Najib Razak’s discharge not amounting to an acquittal: Th former prime minister was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for three money laundering charges involving RM27m from SRC International Sdn Bhd due to prosecutorial incompetence.

These cases exhibit chronic lack of accountability and transparency. In all, the Madani government has not satisfactorily provided reasonable justifications or resolutions that would have led to meaningful and positive change in governance. 

Real structural reform needed

According to its much-vaunted national anti-corruption strategy 2024–28, the Madani government aims to ensure Malaysia reaches the global top 27 of Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index by 2028. This year, Malaysia was ranked 57.

With the seemingly endless slew of unresolved corruption scandals and governance failures, will this target ever be reached? 

Shamsul must relinquish all public-facing positions, including his position as Malacca PKR chief – and be subject to a thorough and transparent investigation by the authorities.

However, individual culpability is not enough. Malaysia is in dire need of real structural reform that will actually prevent abuses of power from occurring again.

The undersigned organisations strongly urge:

• The removal of executive influence over the MACC, including the prime minister’s appointment powers over the MACC chief commissioner
• The separation of the offices of the attorney general and public prosecutor, including full independence of the public prosecutor from the executive
• The legislation of a political financing act, which must include mandatory public reporting of all political funds and the total prohibition of corporate and anonymous donors

Without these fundamental reforms, corruption scandals of this magnitude (and greater) will continue to emerge.

It is the entire government’s responsibility to reverse its culture of impunity, lack of accountability, and failure to reform.

The people deserve better.

Endorsed by:

Organisations

1. The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center)
2. Beyond Borders
3. Pusat Komas
4. SIS Forum (Malaysia)
5. Bersih
6. Suaram
7. Persatuan Pemangkin Daya Masyarakat (Rose)
8. Society for Equality, Respect and Trust for All Sabah (Serata)

Individuals

1. Mahi Ramakrishnan
2. S Munirah Alatas, independent scholar, author and researcher 
3. Emeritus Professor Terence Gomez

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