It is most unfortunate in that there are some Malaysians who are constantly waiting to beat a good man down. Just look at how an online portal is quick to blame Pak Lah for the ineptness of the MACC, failing to appreciate that Pak Lah only had a hand in the formation but is not in any way able to influence the commission since he stepped down.

Therefore one must ask the question, is there now an organised attempt to smear Pak Lah's name and divert attention from the present administration. Is Pak Lah now the new convenient scapegoat?

I urge you to read and understand the advise Pak Lah gave the MACC, for it to have been effective or for any organisation for that matter, it would not have able to do so through force, only constant vigilance, for this reason various committees with many eminent personalities were put in place. What have they been doing?

Pak Lah had put in place the necessary structures in the MACC, the required staffing and the budget required, do you need the prime minister to also hold their hand?

And who is the PM now?

I believe that Pak Lah is unlike his predecessor, it is not in his nature to do something to leave behind a legacy or legacies. A lot of what he did was because he believed that it was the right thing to do, Of course we can fault him for not doing enough, fast enough…but it would be mischievous to fault him for more than that.

Below is what Pak Lah had said about the MACC at the time it was set up:

He said the MACC has additional powers to allow it to investigate certain forms of corruption hitherto out of its jurisdiction.

The MACC's workforce will be beefed up, with a staff strength of approximately 5,000, including investigating officers. Abdullah said various checks and balance mechanisms to provide the MACC with external oversight were established through panels and committees.

They are the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board, Special Committee on Corruption, Complaints Committee, Operation Review Panel and the Corruption Consultation and Prevention Panel with distinguished members such as a former Chief Justice, academicians, a Suhakam commissioner, lawyers, businessmen, media practitioners and a former Attorney General.

The Special Committee on Corruption, for example, comprises three Barisan Nasional MPs, three from Pakatan Rakyat and a Senator from Sabah.

"I believe that you are more than well-equipped to contribute to ensuring that corruption is fought more effectively from now on. I would thus urge you to use the powers extended to you to uphold truth and justice and to help weed out corruption wherever it may lurk," he told the MACC.

The prime minister said the government did not want the creation of the MACC to be seen as merely a re-branding of the ACA without any concrete changes to its structure and effectiveness.

The government, he said, was aware of the perception that the ACA was not independent, a "toothless tiger", selective in prosecution, slow in taking action and unprofessional in investigating.

This was why the government decided to review the structure, approaches and jurisdiction of the ACA and take steps to overcome the negative issues, and make the MACC a highly-respected body, he said.

He said the changes were aimed at increasing the integrity and capability of the body to combat corruption more effectively, efficiently, pro-actively and with transparency. The Anti-Corruption Act 1997 has been replaced with the more comprehensive Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2008.

Abdullah said while the government had taken these steps, much of the MACC's success or failure would be down to the officers' conduct in carrying out their duties.

"It is thus my utmost hope that each and every officer of the MACC regardless of position or rank, conducts his duties to the highest standards of professionalism - dedication, impartiality and fairness must necessarily be part and parcel of your job as anti-corruption officers," he said.