Azam 'open' to plan for Parliament to make key MACC appointments

 

Just over four months ago, MACC chief Azam Baki expressed concern at the prospect of political interference should the graft buster be placed under Parliament.

However, Azam (above) indicated today that he was still "open" to proposals for the Dewan Rakyat to be in charge of making key appointments to the MACC.

"It depends on the reforms done by the government. However, for now, the MACC is in the dark about the terms and mechanisms to be implemented.

"We are always open (to proposals), and there is no issue. We are also ready to share our views," he was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.

The commissioner was responding to a separate interview by the Malay daily on Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul - who backed calls for a Parliament Special Select Committee (PSSC) to be formed and put in charge of appointments of senior officers to sensitive agencies such as the MACC and Election Commission.

Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul

Azam had expressed a similar openness to parliamentary reforms affecting the MACC in September last year.

However, he had cautioned that placing the MACC as a whole under Parliament would expose the graft buster to political interference.

"If we were to put MACC under Parliament, it is likely that we will have to follow policies that are set by politicians at a time when people are calling for us to be free from political pressure," he had said.

He had also questioned whether the MACC needed to get Parliament's approval before investigating high-profile figures if was under such an arrangement. - Mkini