Parliamentary committee seeks meeting with PM on recent appointments

The Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Public Appointments will be writing to seek an appointment with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, says chairperson William Leong.

He said the committee was not receiving cooperation from the executive on the three recent major appointments.

Leong, who is also PKR Selayang MP, was referring to the appointments of inspector-general of police Abdul Hamid Bador, chief justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and most recently, the appointment of new Malaysian Anti Corruption Commissioner chief Latheefa Koya.

He said the committee was unaware of Latheefa's appointment as the new MACC chief and was similarly in the dark over the appointments of the chief justice and IGP.

"We were not informed about these (appointments) and we didn't have the opportunity to look through them. By the time we knew, it was not through official channels but from the press," he told Malaysiakini today.

"We are surprised and disappointed these (discussions on appointments) didn't come to us," he said.

Leong said a letter to the prime minister was being drafted and hopes to send it out today.

"Obviously, we need to sit down to work out the system because if this continues, the committee will not be able to function.

"We are going to tell the prime minister that we are not taking away his power," he said.

Although Leong acknowledged the parliamentary committee has no part to play in public appointments under the Federal Constitution and relevant laws, he said the government can still cooperate with the committee on appointments.

He said roping in the parliamentary committee would provide an oversight that the appointment was conducted with merit and follow guidelines.

"That itself will boost public confidence," he added.

In the long run, Leong said the government may need to amend the Federal Constitution and other laws to allow greater checks and balances by the legislative by participating in public appointments.

As of now, he said the parliamentary committee had only discussed the appointment of the new Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) chief at the end of May.

"There is no decision on the Suhakam chief post yet," he said, declining to divulge further of the potential candidate.

Many were surprised by the Prime Minister's Office's (PMO) recent announcement that Latheefa had replaced Mohd Shukri Abdull as the new MACC chief commissioner.

Shukri had opted for early retirement one year before the expiration of his contract.

While her appointment was praised by NGOs, other quarters questioned it due in part to her political affiliation and that her selection did not first go through the parliamentary committee on public appointments.

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