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The recent reappointment of Azam Baki as the MACC chief has dealt a blow to Malaysia’s ambitions of a corrupt free nation. This is despite the fact that the current Madani government has stated in April that they are considering reforming the appointment process of the position according to an article by Free Malaysia Today.
This reappointment has raised eye brows yet again over the Prime Minister's influence over selecting a chief. As the C4 Centre stated in an article by the Borneo Post, the appointment process is currently carried out unilaterally by the Prime Minister. This highlights a lack of independence and transparency the commission has which can reduce the image of the nation in the fight against corruption.
The amount of powers the Prime Minister's Department in issues relating to the MACC is a significant roadblock to the nation's CPI ranking ambitions it has set out to achieve as found in the National Anti Corruption Strategy published by SPRM. Aside from the CPI ranking, it is just in general a massive blow to public trust towards the commission as they now pose the question of whether investigations are free from political interference and bias.
To remedy this issue, it is paramount to separate MACC from the prime minister's department to allow for a true independent and transparent selection process. Furthermore, the creation of an independent body to monitor and conduct appointments will allow for the independence of the commission to carry its duties out without political games interfering. This idea is supported by the Malaysian Bar in an article by The New Straits Times which states that it would also increase public trust in the commission’s mission of a corrupt free nation.
The MACC needs reforms to ensure it does not become a tool for silencing critics and it should never stray from its path of protecting the public from corruption without influence.
Chan Kenn Jin (facestabber123@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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