Agora Society's Statement on 7 June 2019
(photo credit: NewMalaysianPost.com)
Agora Society is ready to give goodwill to whoever is appointed to helm key public institution, especially when the person is determined to reform Malaysia, and has a proven track record of performing his/her duty professionally, impartially and without fear or favour. Latheefa Koya, who is appointed as the new chief Commissioner of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) generally fits the bill.
However, the process of her appointment, though it might be lawful as it is the prerogative of Prime Minister, lacks transparency and accountability. The Prime Minister himself has even conceded that the decision of appointing our new Chief of MACC is his alone.
Lest the government forgets, they were widely viewed as having taken Putrajaya on the slew of institutional reforms which they vehemently promised. Promise no. 14 of the manifesto has stated that the ‘appointment of these Commissioners must be validated democratically by Parliament.’ Other than that, promise no. 16 also spelled out that ‘key national positions such as appointments to the Human Rights Commission, Election Commission of Malaysia, the Malaysian Anti- Corruption Commission, and Judicial Appointments Commission must be approved by a suitable parliamentary committee. This will reduce the ability of the Prime Minister to intervene in these important appointments.’
We understood that the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on major public appointments is set up mainly for such purpose, and it was rather unfortunate that PSC was not even notified, never mind consulted. As it stands, the appointment of key official is still very much the same and we are worry about how much power are still in the hands of the Prime Minister without any check and balance. The new government should also be reminded by the fact that the previous government met its demise partly because of absolute power wielded by the previous Prime Minister which leads to a series of corruptible practices.
Furthermore, it is undeniable that the Prime Minister is appointing a MACC chief which was tainted by political partisanship, and it is a political appointment in any sense. Would the new MACC chief be courageous enough to investigate any of the Pakatan Harapan politicians - or even Mahathir himself – she is ostensibly associated with. Having said that, Latheefa would also alleged with political biasness if she chose to show leniency towards any politicians she favours, regardless if it is a correct or wrong call. Equally, investigating politicians that Latheefa has previously shown misgivings might give the public the impression of political revenge. To sum up, whoever was seen as a political appointee in key institution proves to be political divisive and lacks public legitimacy.
The role of the Major Public Appointments committee entails that any key public institutions’ candidates should be reviewed and vetted by the committee itself to ensure a check on executive appointments by the legislative. If the new government has no intention of allowing the committee to fulfil his task, we Malaysians should rightly wonder and question why the committee was created at the first place.
Also, if the government is committed about reform, they need to show their political will by going through the legislative process to amend the process of selecting and scrutinizing candidates to be more transparent and accountable. For example, the opinions of the committee and subsequently Parliament should be taken into account so that such appointment could command the confidence of the executive, parliament and the public. However, what the latest episode has shown was that the selection process was a unilateral decision made the Prime Minister himself.
As the saying goes, actions always speak louder than words. While we are heartened by the fact that the new MACC chief has proven to be a fighter against political corruption and a tireless human rights activist, yet we should equally be reserved until she has indeed performed well with the position she was appointed. Malaysia has been let down by many false dawns who had done so in the past, thus it is only logical the echoes of praises should be withheld for now.
If we could take one lesson from the previous General Elections, it is that Malaysians should no longer believe in rule of man, instead democratic institutions should be reformed, enhanced and protected to ensure no politicians could hold political power that was beyond his/her mandate. ‘Benevolent ruler’ politics is a thing of the past and as long as power corrupts, institutions must be always in place to check the power of the executives. Thus, it is imperative to urge the Pakatan Harapan to be serious in honouring the promises in the manifesto, especially those concerning institutional reforms to ensure proper check and balance among the 3 branches of power. Appointing 'good persons' alone by whip and fancy through the decision of Prime Minister alone might generate 'feel-good' factor only on to a narrow section of the public – especially those that are associated with the appointee. Yet a MACC chief should be accountable to all Malaysians and such appointment does not generate public confidence and it does not conceal the fact that such flawed appointment process harkens back to the days of BN where the Prime Minister’s authority and power is unchallengeable.
Agora Society
Agora Society is a loose network of intellectuals, writers and activists who advance democratic progress in Malaysia through critical analyses and propositions based on the principles of democracy and good governance. Please visit our page at http://www.facebook.com/agora.msia or http://agoramalaysia.blogspot.com/ for more information
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