Why does MACC chief need personal advisers, asks lawyer

Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla says MACC Act only provides for the setting up of an advisory board for MACC, not MACC chief alone.

PETALING JAYA: Lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla has questioned the appointment of four community figures to advise the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) chief commissioner when there is already an advisory board.

Haniff, who appears for Dr Mahathir Mohamad in civil cases, said there was no provision in the MACC Act 2009 for the appointment of honorary advisers.

“Section 13 of the act only provides for the setting up of an advisory board for the MACC and not for the MACC chief alone,” he said in a Facebook post.

He was responding to the appointment of former chief justice Zaki Azmi, former Dewan Negara president Abu Zahar Ujang, Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute director Ramon V Navaratnam and Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation senior vice-chairman Lee Lam Thye as advisers to the MACC chief.

The MACC, in a statement on Monday, said the appointment was for two years, from Feb 1 to Jan 31, 2020.

According to the MACC, the advisers’ role is to provide views and advice to the MACC chief commissioner on operations, prevention, education as well as other matters relating to the implementation of MACC activities, at the request of the chief commissioner.

Haniff said the appointment meant that there would be two bodies to advise MACC chief Dzulkifli Ahmad.

“Where is the legal authority to set up a group of honorary advisers specially for the MACC chief only, and what is the motive for appointing them?” he asked.

He said Dzulkifli must explain, otherwise he should not object to the negative public perception about the anti-graft body.

Under Section 13 of the act, the king on the advice of the prime minister appoints Anti-Corruption Advisory Board (ACAB) members among individuals who have rendered distinguished public service or achieved distinction in their professions for two years.

The chief commissioner of MACC is appointed as an ex-officio member of ACAB.

Their terms of reference are, among others, to advise the MACC on any aspect of corruption and to receive, scrutinise and endorse proposals towards the efficient and effective running of the anti-graft body.

Information sourced from the MACC website shows the current ACAB members are Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim, Hadenan Abdul Jalil, Jamaluddin Ahmad Damanhuri, Musa Hassan, Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, Michael Yeoh Oon Kheng, Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, Mohd Noor Abdullah, Azman Ujang, Mohd Tap Salleh, Hamzah Kassim, David Chua Kok Tee and Halimah Mohd Said.

Apart from ACAB, the MACC Act also allows for the setting up of a Special Committee on Corruption and a Complaints Committee.

Administratively, the MACC has also set up a Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel and Operations Review Panel. -FMT