SHAH ALAM: The appointment of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief must be made transparently in future, says Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) chairman said the recent extension of Tan Sri Azam Baki as MACC chief had caused a negative reaction among the public due to his alleged controversy.
"Image and perception (of the public) on the leader of MACC is very important especially in the context of change.
"One must be clean and not tainted by issues. Personally, I believe there should be a proper process involved.
"In the future, the decision to appoint a MACC chief must be made transparently with clear criteria laid down to avoid negative perceptions (on the institution)," he said at the APPG on Integrity, Governance and Anti-Corruption media conference at Karangkraf building here on Tuesday (May 16).
Politics and economy expert Dr Edmund Terence Gomez said while he supported Anwar's aspirations to eradicate corruption in the country, he disagreed with the Prime Minister's reasoning on reappointing Azam as the anti-graft chief.
He said that Anwar should have considered the credibility issues before giving out a statement saying that Azam had done a good job in busting corruption.
"I must say, we can't accept the response made by the Prime Minister, on his explanation about Azam where he said he did a good job.
"Azam did not appear in Parliament to answer the allegations against him," he said.
Meanwhile, APPG deputy chairman Datuk Mas Ermiyatie Samsudin said Perikatan Nasional was equally surprised with the move to extend the MACC chief’s contract even after what had happened last year.
"The then Opposition, who are now in the government, used to say a lot of things (about Azam) and even questioned his credibility, but now they reappointed him.
"The Prime Minister should give a reasonable explanation to the rakyat (about it)," she said.
Azam was reappointed as the MACC chief commissioner for another year on May 12.
On Monday (May 15), Anwar said that Azam's reappointment was made as the government was satisfied with his work leading the anti-graft agency.
The parliamentary group consists of MPs from both the government and Opposition blocs as well as non-governmental organisations and experts to push for institutional and legislative reforms.
Among the demands of the group were to call for the separation of power between the Attorney General and Public Prosecutor; amendments to the MACC Act and the Whistleblower Protection Act.
Syed Ibrahim said that the proposals would be presented to Parliament during the upcoming session from next week.
