SHAH ALAM - The complete transformation of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) by placing the agency under Parliament must be done immediately.
This is to avoid the potential of selective prosecution through executive influence.
Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) Exco Alan Kirupakaran said the country required the anti-graft agency to be independent of government influence.
He said the failure to do so would affect the credibility of the government, related agencies and the collective commitment to governance with integrity.
"The measures to reform and restructure MACC should not be delayed anymore. For starters, MACC appointments should be made through a select committee thus giving freedom to recommend names to the Parliament, ministers and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
"In addition, it would be appropriate if the MACC were given the ability to manage its own administrative and workforce needs. So, the highest officials can be appointed without going through the government,” he said during his speech at the Rasuah Busters Notes to PMX programme aired live on Sinar Harian’s Facebook and Astro Awani on Wednesday.
Alan said he believed the suggestion could strengthen MACC’s position as an independent institution that hr did not side with any groups and only fought to uphold the truth.
"For everyone’s knowledge, Malaysia’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) score shows a very significant decline over the past four years. The data was released by Transparency International (TI).
"Among the causes of Malaysia’s declining score were the lack of progress in the anti-corruption initiatives, repeated failures of governance yearly and the lack of political capacity in institutional reforms,” he explained.