MACC chief Dzulkifli Ahmad should ask that the commission is placed under a parliamentary committee headed by the opposition if he was serious about independence, said DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang.

Lim said this in response to Dzulkifli fuming at Minister in the Prime MInister's Department Paul Low's proposal for the Department of National Integrity and Good Governance (JITN). to monitor the MACC and ensure that it properly investigated cases and effectively charges perpetrators.

"MACC is supposed to be independent but it is not. It will be even less independent when it is hived off to Paul Low under JITN.

"MACC must not only resist Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak hiving off the MACC to Paul Low, it must also demand MACC comes directly under an opposition-headed parliamentary committee to ensure its independence and professionalism," said Lim in a statement today.

Lim said the 1MDB scandal had been the worst blot on the independence and professionalism of the MACC.

"Malaysians do not expect Dzulkifli and attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali to re-open investigations into the 1MDB scandal, as this can only be done if there is a new Pakatan Harapan federal government in Putrajaya after the 14th general election," he said.

The new government, Lim said, will certainly place MACC under a parliamentary committee and not under any minister.

Earlier today, Low said the cabinet had on July 28 approved the proposal to upgrade the integrity and good governance division under the Prime Minister's Department into JITN, a full-fledged department.

He said that the department will implement initiatives that would require enforcement agencies such as the MACC to strengthen and focus on key functions.

Low later clarified that the JITN was not intended to control any agencies but to help with transformation.