By Brendan Rees
Besieged former Casey mayor Sam Aziz says he is still teaching full-time at a business school in Egypt and has “proven to be an outstanding asset”.
Mr Aziz is a ‘person of interest’ regarding an ongoing Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, where it’s alleged he had dealings with a developer, however, he flew to Egypt in November last year, just before the hearings began.
When Mr Aziz last spoke to Star News in February, he said his lecturing duties at Bloom Business School in Cairo were “sporadic” as he battled a heart failure condition – but has not been able to be reached for comment since.
But in a Facebook post on Thursday 9 July, Mr Aziz confirmed his current employment with the school by stating he was “continuing” to teach at Bloom Business School in Cairo.
He also attached a glowing character reference letter to his Facebook page purporting to be written by the director of the school, Mary Louis.
“It outlines the truth, rather than the rubbish that was made up against me once again!” Mr Aziz said of the letter in his Facebook post, adding he was conducting online classes with students during the coronavirus pandemic.
In the letter dated 23 June 2020, Ms Louis stated Mr Aziz was “highly qualified” to teach at the school and had been teaching modules in the Master of Business Administration program from October 2019 to July 2020.
“Mr Aziz has proven to be an outstanding asset to our organisation,” the letter reads.
“In terms of his personal skills, I have found Mr Aziz to be a very professional, courteous and diligent person, who is focussed on delivering results quickly and to the highest quality.”
Ms Louis, who stated she had known Mr Aziz since September last year after she was introduced to him by an industry partner, goes on to say she looked forward to “the many exciting opportunities ahead” in working with him “here and in Australia”.
In signing off, Ms Louis wrote: “This certificate is given at his request without any responsibility on the company”.
The detail of Mr Aziz’s teaching arrangement in the letter is corroborated by an affidavit that was filed with the County Court earlier this year and sworn by Mr Aziz’s lawyer, Jeremy Peck, of Moray and Agnew Lawyers which stated Mr Aziz was contracted to teaching at the school until “at least” July 2020.
The court document also claimed at the time Mr Aziz had ongoing health conditions including a chronic heart condition; diabetes; and mental health concerns – which had prevented him from returning to Melbourne.
In his latest Facebook post, Mr Aziz made no mention of the IBAC hearings or when he expected to return to Australia.
“I look forward to my opportunity to present the full truth, and it will happen very soon, when all of this will be formally exposed,” he said in the post.
Up until February Mr Aziz was granted paid leave from Casey Council after citing medical grounds before the State Government moved to sack the council. Meanwhile, Mr Aziz has hit out at the media for suggesting he had shared photos of himself with “famous people” to “drum up business for myself”.
“These photos appeared at some stage in my life on my Facebook page as I promoted the work I did daily as mayor of my city,” Mr Aziz said his Facebook post.
“I never shared them again since (at least 12 months ago now), even when Facebook prompts you to do so as a previous memory.
“I am flattered by the obsession but how about some truth for once!” Mr Aziz stated.
On his website, Mr Aziz has posted a number of photos under the title ‘mayor emeritus’ which showcases his terms as mayor and mingling with political figures including with former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s wife Lucy Turnbull. However, the site makes no mention of his dismissal as councillor.
In one photo posted on the site, Mr Aziz poses with then Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison, LaTrobe MP Jason Wood and then Cardinia mayor Brett Owen.
Mr Wood said it wasn’t uncommon for photos he appeared in to feature “everywhere”.
He said the photo of him and Mr Aziz was a “good news story at time” following an announcement of the stage two Monash Freeway construction and the Beaconsfield interchange.
“That’s what the photo’s about – nothing more, nothing less,” Mr Wood said.
In another photo, Mr Aziz smiles with former state opposition leader Matthew Guy, who said he hadn’t had many dealings with Mr Aziz – with his last contact being about seven years ago.
“It is a bit disingenuous to use these photos as current,” Mr Guy said.
