Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) crushing defeat in the 17th Sabah State Election has reignited a long-simmering debate within the coalition: its credibility on anti-corruption. And this time, the call for accountability is coming from within its own ranks.
Pandan MP Dato' Seri Rafizi Ramli has urged the unity government to take immediate, decisive action to restore public confidence, beginning with a firm stance on the future of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki.
According to Rafizi, PH’s silence - or worse, indecisiveness - on Azam’s contract renewal is sending the wrong message to voters who once rallied behind the coalition for its promise of clean governance.
“One of the main reasons influencing voters’ decisions is their disappointment with the government’s credibility in reforms and renewal, particularly efforts to rid the country of corrupt practices,” Rafizi wrote in a Facebook post. He noted that during the current Dewan Rakyat sitting, queries were raised about whether Azam’s contract would be extended for a fourth time - yet the response from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was vague and unsettling.
“Not two times. Not three times. But four times,” Rafizi stressed. “If his contract is further renewed, it will further erode public trust on PH and PKR as parties that claim to stand firmly against corruption. Given the many controversies linked to his name, the time has come for the contract not to be extended.”
The former PKR deputy president also emphasised that this call cannot come from him alone. He urged Nurul Izzah, along with DAP leaders such as Anthony Loke, to make a united, open demand. Only then, he said, will voters believe that PH still stands for its core message: a corruption-free Malaysia.
PH’s strongest appeal, Rafizi reminded, has always been to the middle class - voters who supported the coalition because they believed in its commitment to clean governance. Yet survey data he has repeatedly presented since last year shows that public dissatisfaction with anti-corruption performance remains one of the top criticisms of the unity government.
The statistics cited by Rafizi paint a worrying picture. The percentage of investigation papers resulting in charges has fallen from 56% in 2020 to just 39% in 2024. Convictions have also dropped dramatically - from 300 cases in 2021 (36% of investigation papers) to only 256 cases in 2024, or merely 22%. Meanwhile, several high-profile cases have ended in DNAA decisions, dropped charges, or compounds that allow suspects to walk free without convictions.
For a coalition that rose to power on the promise of institutional reform, this downward trajectory is politically lethal.
By tying the Sabah defeat to PH’s failure to project a strong anti-corruption agenda, Rafizi has placed the leadership - particularly Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim as Prime Minister - in a tight but unavoidable corner. The question is no longer about Azam Baki alone. It is about whether PH still has the courage to uphold the values that brought it to Putrajaya.
Rafizi’s message is unmistakably clear: Renew Azam’s contract again, and PH risks losing the remaining goodwill of voters who once believed it could change Malaysia. Drop him, and PH may finally take the first real step towards reclaiming public trust.
By: Kpost
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