KUALA LUMPUR: “Well, who’s gonna monitor the monitors of the monitors?”
Those words, uttered by Carla Dean – a character played by Regina King in the 1998 political thriller Enemy of the State – have aged uncomfortably well.
The film was released just two months after Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was sacked as deputy prime minister and expelled from Umno, triggering a political earthquake that gave birth to the Reformasi movement.
Back then, Anwar pledged sweeping reforms – to dismantle corruption, curb cronyism and restore integrity to state institutions long accused of serving power rather than principle.
More than two decades later, after prison, exile, political resurrection and improbable coalition-building, Anwar became Malaysia’s 10th prime minister. Expectations were immense.
Reform long deferred faces its hardest test
Yet in early 2026, that promise is once again under scrutiny – this time amid the most serious allegations yet involving the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and its chief commissioner, Tan Sri Azam Baki.
Pressure on the Madani government had already been building over stalled institutional reforms, including political financing legislation, as reform voices grew louder in recent months.
It intensified sharply after Bloomberg published an explosive report alleging questionable shareholdings by Azam and, more troublingly, collusion between MACC officers and a so-called “corporate mafia” involved in hostile corporate takeovers.
The claims – including allegations that enforcement powers were weaponised to intimidate company executives – have sent shockwaves through civil society and revived a foundational question: who holds the anti-corruption agency accountable?
Civil society demands action
Bersih chairman Faisal Abdul Aziz told Twentytwo13 the gravity of the allegations demands an independent investigation. He called for the MACC chief commissioner to take leave or be suspended to ensure any probe is conducted independently, transparently and without interference.
Bersih also urged Parliament to summon Azam to explain the latest revelations and reiterated that the government must implement the full MACC reform agenda – including reforming appointment processes and establishing an independent parliamentary oversight body.
“Public trust in the MACC must be restored through serious and decisive action,” Faisal said, warning that credibility cannot be rebuilt through denial alone.
That concern was echoed by the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Centre), which described Bloomberg’s findings as indicative of “deep-rooted corruption” within the country’s most powerful enforcement agency.
C4 highlighted allegations that MACC’s Section D – responsible for investigating listed companies and market-related corruption – may have been used as an intimidation tool in corporate battles, allegedly offering “services” ranging from raids to prosecutorial pressure.
More troublingly, Bloomberg cited an internal MACC memo referring to Azam’s “close friendship” with members of the alleged corporate network, including claims he intervened in investigations. If true, C4 warned, the implications go far beyond individual misconduct.
“The MACC wields enormous power – to raid, freeze assets, arrest and recommend prosecutions,” C4 said. “Without effective oversight, such powers are dangerous and ripe for abuse.”
Independence must be seen
Raymon Ram, president of Transparency International Malaysia, struck a measured but urgent tone.
He stressed that while allegations are not findings of guilt, institutional integrity demands independent verification. The MACC, he said, must not only be independent but be seen to be independent.
Azam has stated his shareholdings were declared through official channels, but public service conduct rules limit such investments. Reconciling corporate filings, governance rules and compliance assessments, Ram argued, requires a time-bound, independent investigation that respects due process.
He added that anti-corruption agencies worldwide are vulnerable to abuse if not properly restrained.
Reform promised, reform delayed
Calls to reform the MACC are not new. As Opposition leader, Anwar repeatedly argued that enforcement agencies must be insulated from political control and subject to meaningful parliamentary oversight.
Those pledges were reiterated in Pakatan Harapan manifestos and reform blueprints. Yet progress in government has been halting. Even the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2024–2028 offers only broad commitments to review appointment and dismissal mechanisms.
More tellingly, MACC reform was absent from Anwar’s list of priority reforms announced at the start of 2026.
Instead, the prime minister publicly defended Azam, questioning why he should “sack someone who is doing their job” and urging the public to read the commissioner’s explanation. To critics, that response suggested either an underestimation of the allegations or reluctance to confront a defining test of reformist resolve.
Political pressure mounts
The controversy has spilled into the political arena. Former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli urged Bersih to lead a peaceful anti-MACC rally in Kuala Lumpur, framing the issue as a defining moment for institutional accountability.
Bersih responded cautiously but firmly, saying it is prepared in principle to work with any party to mobilise public action, stressing that the issue is too significant to ignore and requires a genuine reform response.
The government has since announced a task force to examine the allegations.
Anwar, however, insisted Azam should not go on leave pending investigations – a stance that has only intensified scrutiny.
With the next general election due by November 2027, the stakes are high. The Madani government’s legitimacy rests heavily on its reform credentials. Failure to act decisively on MACC reform risks reinforcing public cynicism that power changes faces, not systems.
This moment demands more than task forces and statements. It requires Anwar to do what he once demanded of others: place institutions above individuals, transparency above convenience and accountability above loyalty.
Reformasi was never meant to be a slogan. It was a promise. Whether it finally finds expression in genuine MACC reform may determine not only public trust in the anti-corruption agency – but faith in the Madani project itself.