Keep promise to place MACC under Parliament, Anwar told
Economic affairs minister Rafizi Ramli said the government had not discussed placing MACC under Parliament’s purview.
PETALING JAYA: A PKR MP said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should keep Pakatan Harapan’s promise to place the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) under Parliament’s purview or risk losing the trust of voters.
Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim said the public would not take any future electoral pledges by PH seriously if the unity government led by Anwar did not fulfil this promise.
“It’s not right to forget our promises after winning (the general election). If we break our promise once, the rakyat will never trust us again,” Hassan told FMT.
He reminded Anwar that he had always spoken about good governance and running a clean administration, apart from fighting corruption and abuse of power.
“Talking alone means nothing if reforms are not carried out,” he said.
He was responding to a statement by economic affairs minister Rafizi Ramli that the government had not discussed placing MACC under the Parliament’s purview.
Hassan’s PKR colleague, William Leong, however, held a different opinion.
The Selayang MP said placing MACC under Parliament when it was still not free from the executive’s decisions made no difference on ensuring the agency’s independence.
He said this was because Parliament consisted of the same people from the dominant parties who were in the executive branch.
“So, the big question is, how independent is Parliament? We’re assuming that MACC would be independent if it was placed under parliamentary scrutiny.
“There is as yet no tradition (as in other parliaments worldwide) of the legislative body acting as an effective check and balance of the executive.”
Former Klang MP Charles Santiago shared a similar sentiment, saying some of MACC’s work was confidential, and there must be protocols to maintain its secrecy before it could be placed under Parliament’s purview.
“To achieve this, a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) must be signed by all MPs. At this moment, there is no such document,” he said.
PETALING JAYA: A PKR MP said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should keep Pakatan Harapan’s promise to place the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) under Parliament’s purview or risk losing the trust of voters.
Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim said the public would not take any future electoral pledges by PH seriously if the unity government led by Anwar did not fulfil this promise.
“It’s not right to forget our promises after winning (the general election). If we break our promise once, the rakyat will never trust us again,” Hassan told FMT.
He reminded Anwar that he had always spoken about good governance and running a clean administration, apart from fighting corruption and abuse of power.
“Talking alone means nothing if reforms are not carried out,” he said.
He was responding to a statement by economic affairs minister Rafizi Ramli that the government had not discussed placing MACC under the Parliament’s purview.
Hassan’s PKR colleague, William Leong, however, held a different opinion.
The Selayang MP said placing MACC under Parliament when it was still not free from the executive’s decisions made no difference on ensuring the agency’s independence.
He said this was because Parliament consisted of the same people from the dominant parties who were in the executive branch.
“So, the big question is, how independent is Parliament? We’re assuming that MACC would be independent if it was placed under parliamentary scrutiny.
“There is as yet no tradition (as in other parliaments worldwide) of the legislative body acting as an effective check and balance of the executive.”
Former Klang MP Charles Santiago shared a similar sentiment, saying some of MACC’s work was confidential, and there must be protocols to maintain its secrecy before it could be placed under Parliament’s purview.
“To achieve this, a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) must be signed by all MPs. At this moment, there is no such document,” he said.
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