KUALA LUMPUR: The decision by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to appoint Latheefa Koya as the new Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief should be respected.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong also urged all quarters to put to end all criticisms as the appointment was made according to the law.
“The appointment of the MACC chief commissioner is in line with Section 5 of the MACC Act, that clearly states the King shall appoint the MACC chief on the advice of the prime minister.
“Since the Agong has consented to the appointment of Latheefa, I think we as citizens should respect this decision and the said appointment,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat, here, today.
Liew was responding to a supplementary question from Datuk Seri Ismail Mohamed Said (BN-Kuala Krau) on why many Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders were not supportive of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s choice to have Latheefa as the chief commissioner of the anti-graft body.
“I am bemused as to why they are disrespectful towards the prime minister. Whatever it is, I congratulate him on being firm with his decision,” he said.
Latheefa was appointed the new MACC chief for two years beginning June 1, replacing the outgoing Datuk Seri Shukri Abdull.
Her appointment, however, was not without criticism, with various quarters questioning her impartiality due to her previous political involvement and allegiance to PKR.
The government was also questioned as to why her appointment had not gone through the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Major Public Appointments.
Meanwhile, Liew said he had also held meetings with the select committee and Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof on possibly reverting to the committee first before making any future decisions and announcements.
“We have discussed with the relevant stakeholders on how to iron out this mechanism (of major public appointments). We are hoping to implement it by this year,” he said.
