Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has expressed concern that MACC chief Abu Kassim Mohamad would be forced into early retirement because of health reasons.
He said that Abu Kassim also has health problems, and there were reports that the graftbuster chief would be replaced, like what happened to former attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail who was removed last July.
"The question is, will the MACC chief also be retired prematurely for health reason?" Mahathir said in his blog post today.
Mahathir warned that removing Abu Kassim will feed the public's perception against the government.
"The removal of Abu Kassim will only convince the people that all that is being said against the government is true - that it exists merely to prevent the rule of law (from) being applied to the leadership of the nation," he added.
The MACC, however, has denied that Abu Kassim is being pressured to resign.
Gani was replaced as AG last year due to “medical reasons”. His removal came as a task force he led was getting deeper into its 1MDB probe.
The MACC had continued its probe into 1MDB's former subsidiary SRC International, as well as the RM2.6 billion donation received by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
Investigation papers with recommended action on both cases have been submitted to the AG.
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