KUCHING, June 6: Batang Sadong MP Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri neither agrees nor disagrees with the decision to appoint Latheefa Koya as the new chief commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
She said the decision was made by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and that he has been given the mandate to be the head of the federal government.
“Tun Mahathir said it is his prerogative, who are you to question him? So who are we to question him? That’s the rule of law.
“Whether I agree or disagree, I have no power to do anything. That’s the people’s choice. We have already chosen the government, then take it from him.
“We have chosen him to be our prime minister, we have chosen Pakatan Harapan (PH) as our government, so if that is how he (Tun Mahathir) decides, then whether the people like it or not we leave it to the people,” Nancy told reporters on the second day of Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) today.
Nancy, a former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said if the people are not happy with how the government is being administered, they have the power to change it during the elections.
“Let the people decide in the coming election whether they like the way they (PH) rule the country. As for me, I’m a politician. Since he (Dr Mahathir) said that this is the best way because they said she has all the qualities so that’s for him to decide the criteria of the person whom they want to chose to do the job.
“But as I’ve said, that does not mean that I agree or disagree, because I can’t do anything. So it’s the rakyat who can do something. So we leave it to the rakyat,” she said.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announced on Tuesday (June 4) that former Lawyers for Liberty executive director Latheefa Koya is the new MACC chief commissioner, effective June 1, 2019.
Certain quarters have protested the appointment of Latheefa as the country’s first female anti-graft head because she was a staunch supporter of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR); thus, the fear of selective persecution.
In addition, these critics also pointed out PH’s election promise that major and crucial posts such as MACC and Election Commission Commissioners must go through a Parliamentary Select Committee. — DayakDaily
