The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) must live down its very bad start which has seriously undermined its claim to independence, credibility and professionalism as compared to its predecessor, Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA).
The MACC had swung into action in the past week and although it seemed to be in an “all-out war” mode against Umno “ikan bilis”, it has to convince Malaysians that it is becoming another ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption of Hong Kong) which brooks no nonsense in its fight against corruption on two important grounds:
• Firstly, when will it move from Umno “ikan bilis” to Umno “ikan yu” to eradicate corruption in the most corrupt institution in the country; and
• Secondly, its “stop work” in its first 17 days of establishment for fear of jeopardizing UMNO’s victory in the Kuala Terengganu by-election on January 17, although Malaysians were promised that the MACC would hit the ground attacking corruption from January 1, 2009.
In fact, on January 14, three days before the Kuala Terengganu by-election, the MACC was forced to delay charging a former Barisan Nasional (BN) state assemblyman in Selangor for corruption so as not to affect UMNO’s result in the Kuala Terengganu by-election.
Former BN Selangor State Assemblyman (Semenyih), Datuk Ahmad Kuris Mohd Nor, also former head of the Hulu Langat Umno division, was only charged on four separate counts of corruption involving RM200,000 in the Ampang Sessions Court a week later – after the Kuala Terengganu by-election result.
In the event, whether a former Umno state assemblyman was charged for corruption before or after the polling would have made no difference to the outcome of the Kuala Terenggany by-election result.
But would the MACC be so “considerate” as to hold back corruption charges if the accused involved had been a PAS or Pakatan Rakyat leader?
Can we hear an explanation from the Chief Commissioner of MACC, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan, to these two clear caveats about the independence, credibility and professionalism of MACC in the very first month of MACC existence?