KUALA LUMPUR: As a person who has been questioning the integrity and misconduct of others, newly-appointed Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Latheefa Koya must resign from her post.
That was the call made by PKR Youth vice-chief Syed Badli Shah Syed Osman, who said that Latheefa must relinquish her post to prove that she was a person of dignity and integrity.
“Clearly, the appointment was not made in accordance with the right channel which is through consultation of the Special Parliamentary Committee and discussion with the Pakatan Harapan Presidential Council.
“Moreover, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad also admitted that he appointed Latheefa without consulting the Cabinet.
“Therefore, I urge Latheefa to resign immediately as the chief commissioner of MACC if she has any dignity left,” he said in a statement today.
Latheefa’s appointment as the new MACC chief, which was announced on June 4, came as a surprise to many.
She replaced Datuk Seri Mohd Shukri Abdull who quit before his tenure ended in 2020.
The appointment also led to many criticisms on the Pakatan Harapan government, which was questioned on its failure to fulfil its manifesto.
Shukri however, in a media conference today expressed support for Latheefa while urging others to let her do her job.
Commenting further, Syed Badli said such an appointment would cause the public to question the government’s transparency in appointing future heads of agencies.
“We must be sensitive to the people’s demands especially in fulfilling promise number 14 in the Buku Harapan manifesto which clearly states that ‘MACC will have to report directly to the Parliament and not to the Prime Minister anymore,” he said.