YOURSAY | Azam owned shares for years but only declared them now?

YOURSAY | ‘This is the same situation as 1MDB - deny, deny, deny.’

MACC chief's shares were an 'affordable' RM330k at sale - Wan Junaidi

BobbyO: How much are you worth, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar? Do you own shares? Do you have proxies managing your assets? What were you worth before joining politics and what are you worth now?

Whatever you say the shares are worth, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki apparently did not declare their worth and that they belong to his brother. Also, the shares are worth more than what a civil servant can have.

The shares have been in his possession from the year they were accumulated and apparently not once did he declare that it was not his, though they have gone up in value. Why defend it now when the issue has been exposed?

This is actually the same situation former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was in. When the 1MDB scandal was exposed – it was deny, deny and deny.

So, stop this charade of trying to protect Azam. These are just some of the assets he owns. What else could he have own locally and even abroad?

That is why a neutral party should be appointed to investigate the whole fiasco. As for leaving it to a government-appointed committee, the public know what to expect. The public cannot forget the role of former attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali when it came to clearing Najib in the 1MDB scandal.

Dizzer: @BobbyO, I too am disappointed with Wan Junaidi. I had always thought he was one of the better ones, despite the bar being very low.

I gather he was a cop before he went into politics, but quit because the corruption was so bad when he moved to the peninsula that he decided to go off and get a law degree.

“Based on the initial price, it is not an expensive share to acquire. I believe it is affordable to many of us,” said Wan Junaidi.

That is an unbelievably dumb thing for Wan Junaidi to say.

RZee: A law minister, no less, giving pointers to the so-called investigators, whoever they may be, and also pre-empting the investigation, as hogwash as it may be.

He obviously doesn’t know the law, the same way all the other ministers don’t know their portfolios.

And why talk about Azam being able to afford RM300,000 when his brother was supposed to have funded the purchase?

And is this law minister saying if the amount involved is small - which actually isn’t, by the way - there is no crime? Malaysia is doomed with these types of leaders.

Cheong Sai Fah: Wow, the story has changed. Azam defended himself by saying his brother used his account to buy the shares, meaning that the shares are for his brother's benefit.

Now the law minister says the shares belong to Azam because he has the financial capacity to buy them. Which is the correct story?

Dr Raman Letchumanan: If we have such a minister who is in charge of Parliament and law, our country is certainly doomed. Even a law student starting on the basics of Law 101 would not proffer such a nonsensical argument.

He has not only manipulated the laws to defend the MACC chief caught with his pants down, but also derided the various laws enacted by Parliament and made it nonsensical according to his interpretation.

The civil service regulations bar any civil servant from owning more than RM100,000 in shares.

What could this learned lawyer in charge of Parliament and law not comprehend? Is he even proposing that as law minister, he can override laws enacted by Parliament with his interpretation? Has he not learned there is the judiciary that passes judgment, in case of doubt?

More importantly, there is an important reason for the cap of shareholding imposed by the government. The government does not want its civil servants to use government positions and resources to attract business or deter competition so as to drive up the profit and price of shares in the companies they have a major stake in.

I can't believe I am offering this legal advice to a minister of parliament and law!

Headhunter: Carry out a full and official investigation. Don't just make ad hoc statements that are confusing and sound like a cover-up.

Azam is no ordinary Malaysian but the head of the nation's anti-corruption agency. His record must be impeccable and free from any hint of corruption so that his reputation and that of the agency are not compromised.

It doesn't help his cause if one minister after another comes out to defend him with half-baked statements.

Newday: Wan Junaidi, I agree. There is nothing wrong with public servants dabbling in the stock market.

But, here we have you saying RM330,000 worth of shares, which is still RM230,000 above what a public servant is allowed to have, and you seem okay with this.

You have terrible math skills. It also shows the ‘tidak apa’ attitude which permeates the Prime Minister’s Department when it comes to bending the law. Your attitude is what is killing this country.

We cannot have good governance or win in our fight against corruption unless you start leading from the front. This is not leading from the front; it is encouraging more of the same.

RedLeopard9781: I’m ashamed of a fellow Sarawakian defending the indefensible! It is an insult to all common Malaysians.

Wan Junaidi, you are digging a bigger pit for Azam to crawl out of – a hole which looks deeper each passing day. Now you are saying Azam lied? That the shares belong to him and not his brother?

Justice To The Fore: If the present situation remains, we will be on a deep downward trend towards a failed state of lawlessness.

Malaysia will become the sick man of Southeast Asia. The signs are so obvious during the past four years. It’s not getting better but worse.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.