I don’t know what drama is going on in the government right now, but apparently the head of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has reached a new level of… emotional transparency. Tan Sri Azam Baki is now hinting that he might be stepping down soon because “some people – like Rafizi – don’t like him.”
This is not satire. He actually said it. And it was reported by multiple news outlets.
According to reports , Azam was speaking at UiTM when he lamented that his contract extensions have drawn criticism and that “people don’t like me anymore… even Rafizi doesn’t like me.”
If you were wondering whether Azam is a the head of one of the most powerful enforcement agencies in the country or a teenager in the midst of a break up with another teenager after an argument, I am wondering about the same thing to.
But let’s not get distracted. While Azam jokes about Rafizi not liking him, the political pressure isn’t actually coming from only one direction.
MCA has also joined the choir
While the government tries to pretend everything is calm and united, even its own coalition member — MCA — is now openly calling for Azam’s removal. In fact, they didn’t just call for his removal; they packaged it in a gift set of reform demands.
During the Wanita MCA Central Delegates assembly, MCA secretary-general Datuk Chong Sin Woon urged the government to remove Azam Baki and to separate the PM and Finance Minister roles — promises Pakatan Harapan itself made in the last general election.
Chong even reminded Hannah Yeoh (now safely inside government) of her previous videos attacking the idea of having the PM double as the finance minister. Apparently, PH is suffering from what MCA calls “selective amnesia”.
MCA says the government must first fulfil two basic reforms:
- Separate PM and Finance Minister roles
- Remove Azam Baki
These aren’t expensive reforms. They don’t require committees, consultants, or 10 rounds of lab sessions. They could be done tomorrow.
Yet here we are.
The political reality: Sabah changed the temperature
Much of this sudden introspection isn’t philosophical; it’s practical.
After the Sabah election disaster, where peninsular parties were hammered, Rafizi came out strongly on Facebook saying PH must restore confidence in its anti-corruption stance — starting with not renewing Azam’s contract again.
Rafizi said extending Azam for a fourth round would “damage PH and PKR’s credibility”, given the controversies around him. He even raised it in Parliament.
Sabah was a wake-up call. Now everyone is scrambling to rebrand themselves as reformists again, hoping voters forget the contradictions.
Which brings us back to Azam’s comments.
And don’t forget: DAP has its own six-month reform timer ticking
There’s another layer to this drama — DAP.
Fresh off its wipeout in Sabah, DAP declared that it would push for key reforms within six months, or else consider withdrawing support from the unity government. And among those long-promised reforms?
You guessed it: institutional cleaning, accountability, and restoring public confidence in law-enforcement bodies.
So if DAP is serious about its own ultimatum, then Azam’s resignation — or at least pushing for it — is going to land squarely on their reform checklist.
The odd, childish honesty of powerful men
Maybe Azam was joking. Maybe it was sarcasm. Maybe it was a half-truth.
But the moment he said “people don’t like me anymore”, I felt something deeply Malaysian: the sense that our leaders never really grow up.
You can be 60, 70, hold a Tan Sri title, run a major institution — and still talk like a Form 3 prefect who’s upset his classmates are gossiping about him.
This is the part that unsettles me.
When I look at the antics of the older generation, I wonder what even is the point of ageing. You don’t magically become wiser, more dignified, or more grounded. What actually happens is that all your childish tendencies remain… but now your hair is grey, and you’re wearing a suit.
Maybe that is the true tragedy of Malaysian politics:
the people leading the fight against corruption behave like the people quarrelling over who stole whose parking spot.
In the end… what now?
Azam says he’s not worried about who replaces him, as long as MACC continues promoting integrity and good governance.
Ironically, that is exactly why many people want him replaced.
Will he step down? Will his contract be renewed? Will the government remember its reform promises?
Or will this all just blend into the background noise of Malaysian politics — another episode in the long-running drama where nobody grows up, nobody changes, and nobody takes responsibility?
Whatever the answer is, one thing is clear:
Rafizi “not liking him” is the least of Malaysia’s concerns.
TheRealNehruism (nehru.sathiamoorthy@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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