SCMP China reports: Malaysia has a new anti-corruption chief. What it doesn’t have yet is a clear answer to the questions that dogged the old one But the man who spent the past six years making the country’s powerful sweat left behind a question he never satisfactorily answered: what do you do when the anti-corruption chief becomes the story? Azam stepped down as head of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Tuesday, his 63rd birthday, handing over to former High Court judge Abdul Halim Aman.
His farewell was characteristically combative. In a podcast interview aired on Monday by the agency, he offered no apologies for his leadership style and no concessions to his critics. “If we want to stay safe, we should do nothing,” Azam said, casting himself as a leader who had pushed the agency to be “bold and radical”.
Background
“If we do nothing, the people will ask what we are doing with taxpayers’ money,” he added.
Key facts
- Malaysia has a new anti-corruption chief.
- Azam stepped down as head of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Tuesday, his 63rd birthday, handing over to former High Court judge Abdul Halim Aman.
- His farewell was characteristically combative.
Originally reported by SCMP China. This story has been edited and re-presented by BRIC Team.
