YOURSAY | 'Harapan must now clarify which posts must be approved by Parliament.'

Independence of the MACC

Love Malaysia 2: The new head of MACC, Latheefa Koya, was chosen for her merits.

One of those is that, as a lawyer, she is trained to uphold the law and defend those she does not agree with personally or who may have committed a heinous crime.

She is trained to put her personal views aside to defend her client and see that justice is done.

I think to disqualify her on grounds she was a political activist for one party neglects to look at how she has criticised her own party if she felt it was not doing things right. I trust her to be impartial and diligent in bringing the corrupt to justice.

However, Pakatan Harapan must now clarify which posts must be approved by Parliament.

This situation could easily have been avoided if they set out standard operating procedures (SOPs) for appointments.

The Wakandan: Two years, writer Kua Kia Soong, two years. Let's see after two years. We do not have the luxury to dither on this urgent matter.

MACC has been a lame duck. Outgoing MACC chief commissioner Mohd Shukri Abdull was perhaps one of the best we had, and yet he was impotent to do what really mattered.

Many of the former regime stalwarts are still around, roaming free where the long arm of the law was unable to touch them. There might even be members of the royalty that need to be reviewed.

It is an open secret that the MACC did not have the chutzpah to handle them.

Latheefa is the person, perhaps, who can make the difference in MACC. Whatever her political leaning is - don't we all have one? - let her do the job which none has excelled at.

Two years. We wait for two years, and see what Latheefa can do with MACC. We have nothing to lose as it is. It could not get any worse.

Anonymous 770241447347646: Well, a lot has been said about Latheefa's appointment.

It has been a natural practice for the party in charge to make decìsions to appoint whomever they deem fit to the position. It has been going on for years.

Since the time of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, it has been one disaster after another.

Those appointed acted like feudal warlords. They behaved as if the institution or department belonged to them.

This resulted in many decisions which were not in favour of the public. Even laws were broken or sidestepped in the decision-making process.

This resulted in people's anger rising, and finally, we can see the results of the decisions.

We have a long way to go to achieve maturity in some areas, especially in the making of decisions to appoint leaders to various positions.

The new MACC chief looks like a woman of repute who is capable. Her no-nonsense attitude supersedes her. It is time to give her room to work and prove herself.

Let us not judge her, as she might surprise us by acting neutral in all her decisions. Only time will tell us whether she is right for the job or not.

Carpe Diem: When you are a leader and you have a very important task to execute and little time to spare, you would look for the best person available at the given time.

Are there more suitable people out there? I am sure there could be. But whoever else is appointed, would it be agreeable to everyone?

I can confidently say that some of the various personalities on both sides of the divide would be raising a stink regarding the suitability of the chief commissioner.

Rupert16: Don’t let ourselves be fooled. The reality is that there is no such thing as an independent person to head the MACC.

To me, Latheefa is the closest to being one, considering her personality, integrity and ability to speak up when things are amiss.

SV: Latheefa may have the individual qualities to head the commission, but can she be politically free or be seen to be totally independent? I don’t think so.

Harapan has failed to live up to its principle of non-political appointments, and people who fought for this principle seem willing to accept such appointments now.

Tok Jangut: From your arguments, no lawyer in private practice can be appointed as a judge because of previous loyalty to a former firm.

Furthermore, Singapore’s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) is not free from the executive. The director reports to the prime minister.

But the thing that makes CPIB effective is that it is monitored by the police. In turn, CPIB monitors the police. This is an effective check and balance. It keeps both organisations honest.

Anonymous_1550204262: Even if you are politically independent, you can always gravitate towards supporting the ruling party. We have seen that happen many times in our country.

Given the mess Malaysia has got into over the years, I think you have to overlook that one negative factor and hail the appointment of Latheefa.

Her appointment, together with those of the new inspector-general of police and chief justice, makes me feel as if there is a silver lining starting to appear after years of being in the wilderness.

Anonymous 764926261: The issue here is not so much political bias. The issue here is that Latheefa was a key operator for a political party which is now in power.

Truthseeker: All human beings have their own biases and opinions. 

To ensure the independence and impartiality of MACC, it should be placed under a parliamentary committee, unlike in BN’s time.

Yoursay: 'Thanks Shukri, now we shall see if Latheefa can walk the talk'

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.