KUALA LUMPUR: The unity government is in the process of reviewing the mechanism related to the appointment of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
"The unity government, through the MACC and other related agencies, is reviewing the mechanism for the appointment of the MACC chief commissioner.
"Any improvement to the mechanism for the appointment of the MACC chief commissioner is expected to involve amendments to the Federal Constitution and the MACC Act 2009.
"The MACC has also conducted a series of engagement sessions over the matter with stakeholders such as the National Audit Department, the Public Services Department, the Attorney-General's Chambers, the Finance Ministry and the Public Services Commission," read the reply.
Azalina added that the MACC has also conducted a comparative study on the mechanism used for the appointment of heads of anti-corruption agencies in countries in Southeast Asia.
She was responding to a question from Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (Perikatan Nasional - Kota Baru) who asked if the government was ready to honour the pledges made in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) election manifesto.
Takiyuddin said according to the manifesto, PH wanted the appointment of the MACC chief commissioner to be reviewed by the Parliamentary Select Committee to ensure that the anti-graft body is independent and fair in executing its duties.
Azalina nevertheless stressed that the calls for the appointment mechanism to be reviewed by the Parliamentary Select Committee was nothing new since it had been brought up during the 13th general election.
"Since then, there was no action taken over the matter by the previous federal administration," she said.