PARLIAMENT | Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today said he has no problem passing the power to select a new MACC chief to a parliamentary special select committee (PSSC).
However, Anwar told the Dewan Rakyat today that this had to be reviewed by government agencies first.
"The question now is, if there is a new appointment to be made, or an extension of the contract (for the current MACC chief), the method to be applied would depend on progress in Parliament.
"If the process mechanism as suggested by Transparency International-Malaysia and several other bodies has been studied by the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) and government agencies, and then (the power) gets passed to the select committee in time, then I have no problem with it.
"As long as the process is respected," he said.
Anwar (Pakatan Harapan-Tambun) was answering an additional question posed by Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (Perikatan Nasional-Masjid Tanah) during this morning's Prime Minister's Question Time session.
She wanted to know if the prime minister can guarantee that any decision on whether to appoint a new MACC chief or extend the service of its current chief commissioner Azam Baki would be discussed in the Parliament first.
This comes as Azam is reaching his retirement age in a few months’ time, according to Mas Ermieyati.
Azam had previously said the MACC was open to parliamentary reforms that would impact the commission.
However, he had cautioned that placing the MACC as a whole under Parliament would expose the graft buster to political interference.
Earlier while posing her question, Mas Ermieyati also threw shade at Anwar over Harapan's reform promises.
"If the decision is not taken to Parliament first for discussion, doesn't this give the impression that the prime minister no longer commits to the reform agenda?
"And if the new appointment decision is done by Tambun using his power as a prime minister, it would also fan rumours that the prime minister is involved in some (shady) deals," Mas Ermieyati said.
In response, Anwar pointed out to the Masjid Tanah representative that it was her party leader, Muhyiddin Yassin who appointed Azam to the position in 2020.
Muhyiddin, who is PN chairperson, was the prime minister at that time.
Under the MACC Act 2009, a MACC chief commissioner is appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong - based on the prime minister's advice.
"Under the existing law, MACC is an independent body. That is why when I took over (as PM), I decided not to change the MACC chief, who was chosen by Pagoh (Muhyiddin).
"This was because I want to stop the perception that every time there is a new prime minister, the new leader would appoint a new MACC chief."
Meanwhile, Anwar told Dewan Rakyat that he also agreed to a suggestion for the attorney-general to be separated from the public prosecutor.
"This proposal is still being studied. There is a suggestion that the roles should be separated. It is a bit complicated but I agree they should be separated.
"We have to look into this thoroughly because it would involve additional financial implications worth RM300 million.
"But, I agree that this (financial issue) is not the main issue. Our priority is to ensure that the AGC and prosecution processes are more independent and transparent," he said in answering a question posed by Chiew Choon Man (Harapan-Miri). - Mkini
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