Arm Holdings Charges Smell of Last-Minute Score-Settling

By R. Muralitharan

WITH only six days left in office, outgoing MACC chief Tan Sri Azam Baki has announced that two people will “likely be charged” over the RM1.1 billion Arm Holdings deal.

Although Azam has refused to name them, the timing is suspicious.

The MACC has questioned 22 individuals, including former economy minister Rafizi Ramli and his ex-aide, James Chai.

Is this a coincidence? Look at the evidence.

In December 2025, Azam publicly complained that “Rafizi doesn’t like me” and opposed his contract renewal.

Rafizi had stated that the quickest way to restore faith in the MACC was to send Azam into retirement.

Then came Bloomberg’s 2026 expose.

Quoting unnamed sources, Bloomberg alleged that Azam was associated with a “corporate mafia” and held illegal shareholdings.

Azam responded with a lawsuit for RM100 million.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim quickly came to his defence, saying, “Why insult people who do their work?”

However, this was not enough.

The #TangkapAzamBaki movement forced the government's hand.

On Saturday morning, April 25, the government announced Azam’s replacement.

That evening, Rafizi headlined the #TangkapAzamBaki rally in Kuala Lumpur.

Two weeks later, Azam announced likely charges in a case that conveniently involves Rafizi.

If this isn’t institutional capture, then what is?

Institutions are supposed to serve a purpose greater than the individuals who manage them.

The MACC’s mandate is to ensure justice, not to seek vengeance. Its authority comes from the law, not from personal grudges. When that distinction blurs, the MACC ceases to be a law enforcement body and becomes a weapon.

There is no difference between a criminal and a corrupt officer, except one thing: the officer is supposed to be bound by institutional rules. When he disregards them to settle personal scores, he forfeits the very legitimacy that separates him from those he prosecutes.

Anwar's Pakatan Harapan came to power on reformasi, a promise to rebuild institutions that Barisan Nasional had allegedly dismantled.

Two years on, what do we have?

A sitting MACC chief who spends his final days announcing charges against his most vocal critic.

A government that only acted against Azam after public protests.

A Prime Minister who defended Azam until the outcry became too loud.

That is not reform. That is damage control.

The Madani administration does not appear to understand what it promised.

Reforming institutions does not mean swapping one set of loyalists for another. It means building bodies that operate consistently, regardless of who is in charge or who they are investigating.

At present, Malaysians are being asked to believe that this sudden action against unnamed suspects, announced by a lame-duck chief with a personal agenda, is an example of pure, impartial justice.

We are not that naïve.

The Arm Holdings case requires a full, transparent investigation. 

The case deserves one run by officers whose motives are beyond reproach, not by a man on his way out, taking parting shots at his critics.

If the new MACC leadership wants credibility, its first act should be to review whether this case was driven by evidence or by ego. Because if we can’t tell the difference, then the institution is already lost.

Until then, this looks less like anti-corruption and more like retaliation. And if that’s the standard, then reformasi is dead.

The writer is the Vice-president of Parti Cinta Malaysia and a commentator on governance and public policy. The views expressed are his own.