MACC to summon a former PM for questioning over RM700mil advertising spend

A former prime minister of Malaysia will be called in for questioning over an ongoing investigation into RM700 million expenditure on advertising, promotions and publicity efforts from 2020 to 2022. 

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation officer and sixth chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said he would be calling a former prime minister "very soon". 

"It could be this week or at the latest next week," Azam told reporters at the National Good Governance Symposium. 

However, Azam did not disclose which of the ex-prime ministers would be summoned. When asked if he would be calling in the ninth prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Azam responded by saying that it would be an ex-prime minister and the people from his circle and his office. 

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This comes shortly after MACC launched an investigation into 2022's 'Keluarga Malaysia' campaign for alleged corruption links to the former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob. As a result of the investigation, contracts awarded for the campaign's promotional materials, such as billboards, have been under scrutiny. 

"We are addressing the RM700 million issues. We don't have so much query on how they were approved but how it is being spent and the companies that received it - that's important," said Azam to the media. 

"When there's an issue, there's an allegation, our duty is to investigate," he said.  Azam also confirmed that he has called in the companies involved in the project for more information. 

Khairudin Rahim, CEO of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As Malaysia) said when MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reached out that the organisation notes that this is an 'alleged' corruption claim and the results of the ongoing investigation by the authorities have not been announced.

"To the best of our knowledge and records, no 4As member agencies were invited to pitch nor involved in the 'Keluarga Malaysia' work," he said.  

Khairudin added that it is common "best practice" for advertiser-agency agreements to incorporate a stringent code of conduct clauses" in order to prevent corruption claims. 

Separately, the MACC is also currently investigating former prime minister and finance minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

According to media reports, Datuk Seri Najib Razak did not highlight two 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) subsidiaries’ taking on of debts via the issuance of bonds totalling US$3.5 billion in 2012 to the Cabinet. The bonds, according to MACC investigating officer Senior Superintendent Nur Aida Arifin who was testifying at High Court, were used to buy two independent power producers, 1MDB Energy Limited (1MEL) and 1MDB Energy (Langat) Limited (1MELL).

Nur Aida reportedly found transactions to Najib's AmPrivate Banking Account amounting to US$30 million. According to Nur Aida, a fake British Virgin Islands company known as Aabar Investment PJS Limited had received US$576.9 million from 1MEL’s US$1.75 billion bond in May 2012, and US$790.3 million from 1MELL’s US$1.75 billion bond in October 2012. 

The bond money was later sent to other entities before making its way into Najib’s private AmIslamic bank account, testified Nur Aida. 

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