'One or two? There are 8 more': MACC's Azam warned against cherry-picking in Sabah scandal probe

The lawyer for the businessman behind damning video recordings showing Sabah state assemblymen discussing bribes ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of ringgit has warned the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) against selective prosecution after its chief commissioner Azam Baki suggested that"one or two" individuals" would be charged soon.

Mahajoth Singh said Azam's statement was worrying as there was "clear and consistent evidence" against at least eight other people.

"MACC must not be seen to cherry-pick which cases to pursue. The principle of equality before the law requires that every individual, regardless of rank, political standing, or office, be investigated and charged if credible evidence exists.

"Anything less is a deviation from the rule of law," he said.

Azam's statement came more than three months after his predecessor, former MACC chief Latheefa Koya, said she had obtained the full and unedited version of a series of shocking video clips implicating Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor and several assemblymen accepting bribes in return for mineral exploration licences.

The clips were submitted to MACC as part of a report filed by lawyers on behalf of a businessman going by the pseudonym Albert, whose request for whistleblower protection was rejected outright by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim last year.

Hajiji is currently chairman of Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, a coalition at odds with the state's Umno leaders and which has alligned itself with Anwar's fragile federal government as it survives Sabah's highly fractional politics.

The videos incriminating him and others were first reported by news portal Malaysiakini late last year, which has since released them in parts.

In response, Azam, whose tenure was extended for a third time last month in the middle of controversial investigations into Anwar's political opponents, claimed the videos were "edited" and therefore not credible enough to be admitted as evidence.

On March 11, Latheefa said that the excuse was no longer relevant as the full version of the videos had been handed over to MACC.

Mahajoth, meanwhile questioned the slow pace of MACC's investigation with only "partial updates" announced to the public.

"This piecemeal disclosure, released in bits and pieces, appears less like a pursuit of justice and more like a managed narrative.

"When will all those against whom there is clear evidence be brought to justice?" he asked.

He said documents submitted by Albert were extensive and included unedited video recordings and over 300 pages of corroborating evidence, call logs and WhatsApp messages.

"This body of material implicates a wider circle of individuals in acts of corruption," he added.

He said Albert had put his personal safety at risk in the hope of helping the authorities fight corruption.

"If individuals against whom there is clear evidence are shielded from accountability, it sends a deeply discouraging message to future whistleblowers; that cooperation invites risk, while impunity remains protected.

"The integrity of this investigation depends not on selective prosecutions, but on consistent, fearless enforcement of the law. That is what the Malaysian people expect and what justice requires."