PUTRAJAYA: Former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Datuk Seri Shukri Abdull revealed today that initially, he wanted to suggest former Immigration Department director-general Datuk Seri Mustafar Ali to head the anti-graft agency.
He said on May 14 last year, when he was summoned by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, he was not planning on working with MACC again.
“When I met Tun, in my heart, I didn’t want to work again due to all the pain I went through before and I wanted to suggest for Mustafar Ali to be made the new MACC chief then.
“But when I met Tun, the first thing he said was ‘you will start working tomorrow’.
“I was lost for words. I could not say anything after the Prime Minister already told me that,” he told a press conference here today.
In response to allegations that he was pressured to step down, Shukri said the claims were false as he had made up his mind since last year that he would only stay as the MACC chief for a year.
During the same meeting, he said he had told Dr Mahathir that he would only take the job with the condition that we would retire after a year.
“I told Tun that I would focus on two issues which are firstly on the 1MDB and SRC International cases and secondly on repairing the MACC itself.
“I set the one-year period because I was confident I could settle both issues in about six months to one year which I am happy to say, I have,” he said.
Commenting on Latheefa Beebi Koya’s appointment as the new MACC chief, Shukri said that in a letter to Dr Mahathir dated March 6 this year, he suggested two names to succeed him.
“I gave two of my officers' name to Tun so that someone from within MACC itself will take over my place.
“However, Tun didn’t say anything at the time,” he said, adding that he would not reveal to the media the two names he presented to the Prime Minister.
Shukri returned as the top gun of the anti-graft agency after Pakatan Harapan took control of Putrajaya following the 14th General Election (GE14) in May last year.
Shukri served at the MACC for 22 years before opting for early retirement on July 31, 2016 as the deputy chief commissioner (operations).
He was quoted as saying that his return to MACC on May 22, 2018 was due to some “unfinished business”.
When he was first appointed in 2018, Shukri recalled his time of running away from Malaysian authorities to the United States after his former chief Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed decided to indict former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over the RM2.6 billion that was found in his personal bank accounts.