Former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy chief commissioner Shukri Abdull has been appointed as the body' new chief replacing Dzulkifli Ahmad who resigned from the post last Monday.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad made the announcement at a press conference at Bersatu's headquarters in Petaling Jaya today after a meeting of the Pakatan Harapan presidential council.

"He has the experience because he used to be with the MACC. He (also) has a lot of information and used to fight against wrongdoings within MACC.

"We want to know what actually happened," Mahathir said.

He added that the appointment will be effective upon the approval of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V.

Shukri went on mandatory retirement in 2016 after investigating several high-profile cases, including those related to 1MDB.

This was also shortly after the resignation of his boss, then-MACC chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed.

Dzulkifli, meanwhile, has returned to serve at the Attorney-General’s Chambers last Tuesday. He was seconded to the MACC from there.

Dzulkifli at the time replaced Abu Kassim after a reshuffle that saw all top three officers in the MACC replaced.

Aside from Abu Kassim and Mohd Shukri, the third on the rank was Mustafar Ali, who was transferred to the Immigration Department as the director-general.

Mahathir also confirmed that he had met with Abu Kassim this morning and is in the process of evaluating a new role for the former MACC chief.

Aside from his cabinet, Mahathir has assembled a Council of Eminent Persons to assist the government during its transition period.

The five-member council led by former Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz will also be lending their experience and expertise on economic and financial matters.