Senate president Rais Yatim, who chairs the parliamentary special committee on corruption, said the six members must make clear why they had made their statement. “It is best they state why they changed their stand. This is not clear to the public,” he was quoted as saying.

Rais said it was not appropriate if only Abu Zahar was allowed to explain.

The six board members had said Abu Zahar had merely given his personal views when stating that the board had cleared MACC chief Azam of wrongdoing over his shareholdings. They said his statement did not reflect the view of the board as a whole.

Rais, who was interviewed by Astro Awani, also suggested that the matter be discussed in Parliament, “if public perception towards MACC has deteriorated to the point that the people are questioning justice and MACC’s abilities”.

If so, it amounted to a huge catastrophe, he said.

Azam has been embroiled in a controversy over his ownership of a substantial number of shares in public-listed companies. He has said he had allowed his brother to use his account to make the purchases.