Is Ahmad Said the most suitable candidate to be the first Chief Commissioner of the MACC?

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz was reported in the New Straits Times on Saturday as announcing that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will begin operations on Thursday on 1st January 2009 with Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general Datuk Ahmad Said Hamdan as its first chief commissioner.

The first question is whether Ahmad Said is the most suitable candidate to be the Chief Commissioner of the MACC.

Parliament and the nation have been promised that with the establishment of the MACC, purportedly modeled after Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), the new anti-corruption body can no longer be accused of being the “lapdog of the government” as the ACA had been accused of being thus far.

The implication is very clear – that the ACA had corruption cases which it had not been able to prosecute because of various constraints and considerations all boiling down to “political interference”.

If so, how many such cases are there which the MACC could re-open and would Ahmad Said be the best person to re-open all such cases or would it have been better to have a completely new head for the MACC to spearhead the transformation of the MACC to become another IACC, beginning the journey to catapult Malaysia’s ranking in Transparency International Corruption Perception Index from the country’s lowest position of No. 47 to be among the world’s ten or twenty least corrupt nations like New Zealand (No. 1), Singapore (No. 4), Australia (No. 9), Hong Kong (No. 12 ) and Japan (No. 18)?

With the MACC starting operations on January 1, would Malaysians be able to see the stark difference between the new MACC and the old ACA in its first two weeks of operation?

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88 Replies to “Is Ahmad Said the most suitable candidate to be the first Chief Commissioner of the MACC?”

  1. We know how “fantastic” these ACA people are.
    We know how “determined” they are to investigate
    corruption. All the government is trying to do
    is create activity with no real acheivement.
    The important thing to do is defeat the incompetent
    corrupt government of today, set up another clean agency
    and investigate all the past misdeeds. drag out
    every single one of the past misdeeds and haul
    the criminals to court.

  2. YES!!! OF COURSE HE IS THE BEST MAN FOR THE JOB.

    WHO ELSE WILL HAVE THE MOST HANDS ON EXPERIENCE OF CORRUPTION?

    REMEMBER, YOUR BEST ENEMY COULD BE YOUR BEST ALLY!

    * S I G H *

    WHAT A LOAD OF SH*T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3. MAYBE….

    JUST MAYBE…. HE SCREWED UP SOMEWHERE BIG TIME AND UMNO WANTS HIM OUT OF THE PARTY….

    NOW… ISN’T THIS A GOOD EXCUSE????

    LET HIM SCREW UP INFRONT OF THE RAKYAT?

    HEHEHEHEHE.. HOW APPROPRIATE….

  4. Corruption is the work of market forces willing buyer and willing seller
    Reopen and investigate not only at the authority and government level but also at the business and commercial front a lot of thing happened not only between B to G but also B to B Rakyat must support MACC Ahmad Said cannot do it alone .

  5. “Would it have been better to have a completely new head for the MACC to spearhead the transformation of the MACC to become another IACC”? Would Malaysians be able to see the stark difference between the new MACC and the old ACA in its first two weeks of operation?” – YB Kit.

    The answer is no. This is because according to the provisions of the MACC Act passed by BN majority, the present director-general of ACA Datuk Ahmad Said Hamdan will by this position take over as the first chief commissioner of IACC. This is the requirement of the MACC Act.

    This is called “system integration” between the ACA and the newly inaugurated IACC under the MACC Act.

    The question whether the new IACC led by the ACA chief would grow teeth to bite the big sharks and not just fishing for ‘ikan bilis’ amongst syndicates inked to issuance of foreign workers’ permits, MyKad counterfeiting and smuggling of timber and diesel and the 82 money politics cases of which reports have been lodged, will have take a bit more time to evaluate – including Hamdan’s fitness for this new powerful post.

  6. The root cause here is not the human only but the system itself. If the so called commission is not fully independence from executive and solely responsible to parliament, the human can manipulate the processes in the system to benefit certain groups or individual. However, if the system is strengthen, the government and parliament should focus to come out with human development plan that can create human with high competency, accountability and transparency (CAT). This is not achievable within short term. It will take a very long journey and term for us to establish this if the political will is still there to make it. Otherwise, dream and hope will remain as it is.

  7. We shall know soon enough whether MACC and ACA are the same when Ismail Said is appointed to the top position. The government considers MACC is required to reduce corruption; and MACC should demonstrate to the propective corrupted people that MACC has grown teeth. For that purpose, MACC should prosecute those who were involved in corruption, but could not be prosecuted under ACA.

    We hear about the 18 sharks. The new MACC chief should begin with them to demonstrate that MACC is indeed different from ACA.

  8. Loh reminds “about the 18 sharks” and “MACC should prosecute those who were involved in corruption, but could not be prosecuted under ACA” – his posting Today at 17: 49.03 above.

    The problem/puzzle that needs to be solved first is :

    1. MACC has no independent powers to prosecute – section 58 MACC. That requires Public Prosecutor (AG)’s consent. MACC can say, don’t ask me why no prosecution, ask the Public Prosecutor.

    2. Prosecutor says, don’t question me on why I don’t prosecute, article 145 of our Federal Constitution vests me full discretion in this area.

    3. we turn back to MACC’s Commissioner and say if you don’t have powers to prosecute, at least you have wide powers to investigate, show to us you have done so, and submitted investigation reports to Public Prosecutor.

    4. MACC’s Commissioner turns around and explains, I can’t do that because under the MACC Act, all investigations and their upshot are “confidential” and cannot be disclosed! “Besides you cannot fault me for not investigating even if that were true and leaked out because under section 78 of MACC, we enjoy total immunity for any omission to investigate, when it is in “good faith” ie if we feel it is a waste of public resources to do so.

    So how, what’s the solution and answer to the above???

  9. They just changed dentures right?

    Old set, new set, both also cannot bite or chew. Only cosmetic, to have a better “smile” or “sneer”.

    What has that ICAC chap from Hongky Tonk have to say about this now?

  10. Can anybody remember when was the last time we saw a successful prosecution of a high profile individual ? OK, can anybody remember when was the last time we saw a successful prosecution of an illegal DVD peddlar ?

    If you guys can’t remember, then Bolehland should improve on the corruption index as there are no recent corruption cases to prosecute.

  11. how did this fella got chosen? did we see a list of candidates being highlighted and subjected to review?

    if there was a list comprising of Ali, Chong, Mutu, Gurmit, de Souza, being reviewed by Badawi and Anwar, or Najib and Kit, bickered in Parliament & approved by Agung, then within 3 months 1 big fish indicted in court and waiting for verdict, then I will believe the candidate is a right one

    come year end, stocks in share market goes for window dressing, did someone else caught the bug?

  12. call me a racist but I am not surprise it has to be a Malay to head this right? Chinese, Indians, Dayaks, KadazanDusun, Negrito, Jakun, Portugese, Sikhs, Bidayuhs, Senois, Murut, marooned Martians, Orang Utans not good enough or not even considered?

  13. under

    i don’t care if he is brown, yellow, black, polka dot, just one or 2, the point is, in Malaysia, in position of public interest and prominence, it is mono-racial dominance.

    a good candidate, won’t ask for even one, unless he is asking for more than 1 to go to the slammer.

  14. UMNO mainkan sentimen perkauman

    NGOs, children rally to defend Malay rights
    Posted:16:45 Dec-29-2008 Filed under: Islam, Penang
    by Athi Veranggan, malaysiakini, Dec 29

    Protesters in Penang today called on Malay rulers to revoke the citizenship of Malaysians who dispute Malay special rights and demanded safeguards to their special position as enshrined in the constitution.

    The call by the Malaysian Coalition of Malay NGOs was made at a gathering in conjunction with Maal Hijrah celebrations in Georgetown.

    Some 1,500 people – including 400 children – from a group of 20 Malay organisations joined the two-hour gathering which kicked off at 9am in Polo Ground, outside Sri Mutiara, the official residence of the Penang governor.

    About 50 police personnel, both in uniform and plainclothes, kept a close watch on the gathering.

    At the end of the rally, the coalition’s leaders led by its president, Md Radzi Daud, submitted a memorandum to Penang governor Abdul Rahman Abbas.

    The memorandum was received by a senior official from Sri Mutiara, Sahul Hamid.

    The document also called on Malaysians to defend Islam as the nation’s official religion, the granting of immunity to the Malay royalty and the upholding of the draconian Internal Security Act to protect national security. Jail them under ISA

    At the press conference later, Md Radzi – who estimated the crowd at 4,000 – said that gathering was to warn the people not to dispute the country’s constitution by raising issues that “could disrupt communal harmony”.

    He said the coalition felt it was timely and imperative to hold such a gathering to remind Malaysians about their responsibility to safeguard the constitution, the royalty, social contract, and the nation’s peace and harmony.

    Of late, he pointed out that many Malaysians have stirred Malay sentiments over a slew of issues.

    “By disputing the aspirations of the constitution, some are inciting racial tension and communal disharmony,” said Md Radzi, who is also Yayasan Aminul Ummah Malaysia president.

    He wants those who whip up racial sentiments to be detained without trial under ISA.

    Md Radzi also called on Malaysians to respect the laws and to recognise the rights of various communities in the country to live in peace and harmony.

    “Anyone who challenged this should be detained under ISA and the person’s citizenship should be revoked,” he said.

    Although the gathering supports the continued existence of ISA, Md Radzi nonetheless cautioned the government against abusing the tough security law and called on the authorities to use their wisdom when invoking the law.

    “ISA shall be applied only when there is a real threat to the country’s security,” he said.

    Silence not a sign of weakness

    The four-point memorandum also warned that the patience exercised by the Malays thus far shall not be construed as a sign of weakness or fear.

    “Malays have kept quiet so far to maintain peace and harmony, but don’t disturb the bees hive or you can be destroyed,” stated the memorandum.

    Many teenagers at the gathering carried banners with slogans written in both Malay and Jawi such as ‘Kesabaran Melayu Ada Batas’ (Malays’ Patience Has Limits), ‘Jangan Hina Nabi Muhammad SAW’ (Don’t Insult Nabi Muhammad), ‘Jangan Pertikaikan ISA’ (Don’t Dispute ISA). ‘Kekebalan Raja Raja Dipertahankan’ (Defend the Royal Immunity), and ‘Jangan Pertikaikan Hak Orang Melayu’ (Don’t Dispute Malay Rights).

    Other banners included ‘Melayu dan Mamak Bersatu’ (United Malays and Indian Muslims) and ‘Jangan Ulang 13 Mei’ (Don’t Repeat May 13).

    Most of the participants were wearing red-coloured head-bands depicting the ‘Allahu Akbar’ slogan and pro-ISA black T-shirts.

    Among those seen at the gathering were Umno Bukit Mertajam division leader Musa Sheikh Fadzir and Tanjung Umno deputy leader Raja Munir Shah Raja Mustapha.

    The organisers had originally planned to march from the state mosque to Polo Ground, but this was rejected by the police.

    Although some teenagers wanted to march after the gathering, they dispersed after they were warned against it by the police.

    ULASAN:APA KOMEN MCA YANG DULU PERNAH MENDESAK AGAR TIDAK DIMAINKAN SENTIMEN PERKAUMAN.INI JELAS UNTUK MENAKUTKAN PENGUNDI BUKAN MELAYU DI KUALA TERENGGANU.DULU SAUDARA KANDUNG KEPADA MUSA SHEIKH FADZIR,ABDUL AZIZ PERNAH PANJAT BANGUNAN SUQIU.BELIAU BEKAS NAIB KETUA PEMUDA UMNO

  15. It’s all about who they can trust to be compliant to the den of thieves (sorry, undergrad2, I gotta say this) and not about the most capable candidate. It’s about who can bend over when asked. No questions.

  16. 400 orang kanak-kanak telah diperalatkan UMNO untuk kepentingan politik.Polis tak nak siasat ke?Jelas polis jadi alat UMNO.ketika JERIT mengadakan ekspedisi berkayuh untuk perubahan,pemimpin mereka ditahan dan JERIT dituduh peralatkan kanak-kanak.

    perhimpunan haram yang dihalalkan polis ini bermula pukul 9 pagi dan berlangsung selama 2 jam.

    Isu babi: NGO Melayu mahu serah memo pada Hadi
    Jimadie Shah Othman | Dec 29, 08 7:09pm
    Tiga NGO berteraskan Melayu akan menghantar memorandum kepada Presiden PAS Datuk Seri Haji Abdul Hadi Awang malam ini berhubung isu penternakan babi di Melaka.

    Majlis Permuafakatan Ummah (Pewaris) akan mengepalai rombongan 800 penyokong yang turut terdiri daripada Gerakan Graduan Melayu Muda (GGMM) dan Persatuan Pengguna Islam (PPIM), untuk menyerahkan memorandum itu ketika presiden PAS itu menghadiri program anti-ISA di Stadium Bandar Baru Bangi malam ini.

    Mereka juga berhasrat untuk menyerahkan memorandum yang sama kepada penasihat PKR, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim malam ini. Bagaimanapun, ketua pembangkang kini berada di luar negara.

    Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI) dan parti-parti pembangkang malam ini mengadakan Majlis pelancaran kempen mansuhkan Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) yang gagal disempurnakan bulan lalu.Berbeza dengan program bulan lalu, kali ini pihak penganjurnya telah mendapatkan permit polis.

    Politik perkauman yang dimainkan UMNO ini adalah jauh lebih bahaya daripada isu hukum hudud kerana boleh menjejaskan kestabilan kaum.Penyokong DAP diminta berkempen untuk calon PAS bagi menumbangkan keegoan UMNO yang disokong oleh MCA

  17. Jeffry presented a puzzle/problem case in his today 18.39 hrs posting, asking solution[s] thereof from readers.

    I see the solution has already been initiated by YB LKS in this very same article, for the solution lies in making amendments to the MACC.

    But firstly, more Jeffryies should come forward to put the MACC in laymen terms as did the Jeffry in abovementioned posting. He dramatised the MACC into easily understood Malaysian day to day coffee tables treaties.

    But more importantly, in dramatising so, scenarios modelling are being shown, or the lack thereof within and without the MACC.

    And we can see that the MACC just do not contain enough integrity, flailing even at Jeffry’s first go.

    This shows that the MACC did not adequately consider its scenarios models, case studies, and impact matrix. It suggests that the powers that be did not care for integrity, and wanted the Malaysian public to share its second class thinking mess.

    And thus YB LKS should present case models showing the weaknesses and ineptness of the MACC. The recommendations towards amendments can be then presented in an appropriate matrix. Publish these in the MSN, alternative media, take on to coffee tables and have the larger Malaysian public more knowledgable on the MACC treatsies. This is what the malaysian public deserve, and form one platform to the eventual holistic solution to this madness.

    There’s some senses in all these madness.

  18. Corruption spreads fast because the top level of society is corrupt. When the head is sick, eventually all members of the body will be affected.

    I would suggest one cure: PAS’s hudud can be good. But this hudud must be modified to apply only to the top level of society, i.e. politicians, heads of departments, top businessmen, top law enforcement officers, etc. It must be color-blind: no matter if you are a Muslim, a Christian, a Hindu, a Buddhist or an atheist, once you are involved in corruption your hands will be chopped off.

    Hudud must not be applied to the lower rungs of society. Let the normal law deal with it. Put the fear into the head and you will save the body.

    I think this will extinguish all the rhetorics and politics of Hudud. If PAS is smart champion Hudud only for the head (not Muslims only but all). Leave the body to the other types of medicine and see the result.

  19. Did someone call Jeffrey the drama queen ?

    Nah, the only way forward is to change the federal government. No amount of laws, no matter how appropriate or noble, would work with a corrupt executive. We are just pissing into the wind here. Just make sure you are no downwind.

  20. Question is who prosecutes the Prosecutor for the crime of prosecutorial abuse.– Jeffrey

    __________

    Let the Agong control the prosecutor. So we have a useful job for the Agong to do instead of him being used as window-dressing for the ruling party.

    [deleted]

  21. Marilah membantu calon PAS di Pilihanraya kecil Kuala Terengganu.Tinggal 3 ibu negeri sahaja belum dikuasai Pakatan Rakyat.Kuala Terengganu,JB dan Alor Star.
    Jika Kuala Terengganu berjaya dirampas Pakatan Rakyat tinggal dua sahaja ibu negeri yang dikuasai BN

  22. Kaum Cina dituduh kaum pendatang oleh Ketua UMNO Bahagian Bukit Bendera yang hanya dihukum gantung 3 tahun.Sampai sekarang tak minta maaf.
    Mukriz pula cadangkan sjk cina dan tamil dihapuskan.
    wartawan perempuan cina yang melaporkan kenyataan ismail kena tahan ISA.
    Teresa Kok difitnah Utusan menghina azan sehingga ditahan dibawah ISA
    Hentikanlah kebiadapan UMNO dengan menolak calonnya pada PRK di Kuala Terengganu

  23. Kalau korang semua tengok cerita IPMan,boleh lihat keberanian sifu bruce lee menentang kekejaman jepun.Di Malaysia,wartawan wanita cina itu boleh dijadikan contoh kerana berani melaporkan berita yang benar biarpun ditahan ISA

  24. Jeffrey Says:

    Today at 20: 52.32 (35 minutes ago)
    Question is who prosecutes the Prosecutor for the crime of prosecutorial abuse?”

    If you’re a victim, in a civil action against the prosecutor for damages. If successful it may lead to contempt of court charges – a crime.

  25. To catch a thief it requires a bigger thief…but, unfortunately, this bigger thief is a cock-eyed. Don’t expect big fish to be netted in. UMNO-Bn regime is just playing games, trying to hook-winked the people. If we wish to see concrete changes and the desire to wipe out corruptions, we need to change to a PkR govt. Otherwise, we are just a voice in the wilderness.

  26. When can we Malaysians enjoy unquestionable, clean, undoubted, remarkable, sincere, non-discriminatory, non-prejudiced, clean-slated, sparkling, truly intelligent, free-from-historical-baggage, untainted, corruption free, bigot free, racist free, ethnically impartial, universally-compliant, human rights compliant, and a socio-politically fair and correct administration and governance?

    Whatever Bills or Acts that are adopted, enacted and enforced must pass the above benchmarks in order to qualify as being acceptable to ALL Malaysians irrespective of ethnic, religious, political, social, or economic backgrounds. Else, it would be another exercise and act of futility.

    Unless and until all segments of society feel comfortable and confident with the processes and implementation, the Bills and Acts must be revisited to ensure that no stones are left unturned.

    Such are the demands of true meritocracy and democracy and a universally proclaimed standard of practice.

    Can the MACC stand up to such rigours and tests?

    In other words, is the government of the day prepared to face the realities and high standards of morality?

    Only time will tell.

  27. tok iskandar

    UMNO mainkan sentimen perkauman
    ————-

    1) …to warn the people not to dispute the country’s constitution

    [the Constitution was ripped apart by UMNO]

    2) He wants those who whip up racial sentiments to be detained without trial under ISA

    [These are the culprits: Ahmad Ismail, Toyo, Najib, Kerismuddin, Mahathir & son, too many to name here]

    3) Md Radzi also called on Malaysians to respect the laws

    [the UMNOputras are the chief law-breakers who are above the law]

    4) Other banners included ‘Melayu dan Mamak Bersatu’ (United Malays and Indian Muslims) and ‘Jangan Ulang 13 Mei’ (Don’t Repeat May 13).

    [Yes, mamak are the main instigators– Mahathir, Ahmad Ismail, etc so berpadu lah!

    Don’t repeat May 13 – ask not to play racial issue and now issue threats. What racialist hypocrites!]

    ———-

    So arrest all these scums under ISA as suggested by this group of racialists.

  28. Godfather Says: What about the definition under UMNO’s Law Dictionary ?
    I don’t know, but I found this: “Prosecutorial misconduct is a salad consisting mainly of shredded raw cabbage, often in mayonnaise” – Cole’s Law Dictionary

    The question of who watches the watchers is easy in a modern society: all of us. Malaysia isn’t a modern society. It seems to me that Malaysians don’t vote for good government – they vote for patronage. To resurrect some of an older thread, it doesn’t really matter what PR is when it wins the next GE. If there’s one contribution PR could make to Malaysia’s advancement, it would be to encourage Malaysians to act when things are not good enough.

    So long as voting is possible in Malaysia, Malaysians must use their votes as a stick for under-performing governments and a carrot to entice those who wish to be in government to perform to their best in exchange for long stays in power. If BN isn’t as good as it should be, vote them out. If the next lot are not as good as you think they should be, vote them out. Keep voting against apathetic, corrupt, incompetent governments until you get one that can do a good job. It’ll be a long hard slog, but if you’ve got a bad government, it’s the fault of the voters who put them there.

    It’s easy to blame the one man who fails in his duty, or the group who conspire to enrich themselves at the expense of those in need. The people who most deserve our beautiful arguments are the those that vote for them – nothing else will have any effect. It doesn’t really matter who is the next CC of the MACC – so long as people continue to blindly support the regime the MACC operates in, he will have complete immunity from duty.

  29. There are at least 4 disparate (not neccessarily connected) features relating to this MACC that are interesting to note.

    Feature 1. The question of who is Watcher over those who enforce the law ie the Guardians themselves? It depends. If an ACA agent alleged to have accepted bribe, who investigates? MACC of course. But if MACC does not? Then the police could and if investigations show a case, then Public Prosecutor could inititate prosecution. So there is a “limited” Watcher over the Guardian where Guardian is (say) an ACA officer.

    In the converse situation, supposing the official complained against is a deputy public prosecutor (DPP) facing acomplaint of prosecutorial misconduct of not prosecting a case by reason of gratification received from that accused. Supposing MACC investigates DPP and finds that there is basis to charge him. But supposing aslo esprit de corp is strong and another DPP/AG office refuses to give consent for prosecution of their own. What can be done? Nothing because section 58 says that only Public Prosecutor can initiate prosecution. Ultimate decision lies with office of AG, he being member of govt is, subject to good faith – whatever that means – immune under section 72 of the MACC for any action taken or not taken pursuant to MACC. So there is not even “limited” Watcher over the Guardian where the latter is from the Public Prosecutor’s office.

    Feature 2 : MACC is not retrospective in application : ie it could be applied to commissions of corrupt act before MACC Act. Interference of Judiciary is by all counts under MACC defination of corrupt acts. Royal Commission over Lingam Clip implicates certain high profile players whose recent attempt/application to reverse Royal Commission’s findings in the High Court was turned down. Question : will MACC investigate these principal players as first act of 2009 to evince teeth????

    Feature 3 : while we concentrate on coverage of MACC over corrupt acts of politicians and public officials, we tend to forget that corruption under MACC covers the entire private sector and business community. You promise a kick back to any director, executive and manager for a contract or a job or for business or any bank offiocer for a loan, both you as giver and the identified persons as “agents” of the principal companies are caught within MACC! Gratification under MACC includes any “financial benefit, reward or similar advantage advantage” any “valuable consideration” and “ any other service or favour of any description”. Would this to our business community include entertainment whether providing meals or paid service of sex workers?

    Feature 4 : If MACC were strictly enforced throughout the land, there would not be enough ACA officers, DPPs, courts or jails to accommodate the demand. :)

  30. “If there’s one contribution PR could make to Malaysia’s advancement, it would be to encourage Malaysians to act when things are not good enough.” OrangRojak

    Now that’s a most sensible statement coming from a foreigner. Fortunately for us, the den of thieves continue to behave as though nothing has happened. They lament about corruption, yet they push for laws that protect the corrupt, and give rise to even further abuse. They award contracts by the billions as though the country has limitless resources, but the haste with which they push through contracts suggest that they themselves have little confidence of their own tenure. They arrange for political rallies to warn their detractors of their willingness to detain people without trial. They continue to incarcerate their “enemies”, real or perceived.

    Yes, change must come to Bolehland through the ballot box. Change can never happen voluntarily.

  31. When we don’t have the will to fight corruption, no amount of sophisticated laws and provisions will help. I think we are missing the forest for the trees. Does Singapore have a water-tight legislation on corruption? Or is it because from day one the leadership has displaced total abhorrence to corruption and has instilled zero tolerance on whoever who committed it. Structural problems require holistic solution, not piecemeal cosmetic one. Please don’t waste more time on MACC or whatever C. It will not bring an iota of change. Just to give you a pointer: Since when was the last time you heard of a cabinet ministers or a person in authority in Malaysia openly condemned corruption? If you have one, please let me know.

  32. I can bet 1 to 1000 that ACA and MACC are the same but only the name makes the difference.Regarding Ahmad Said being made to head the commission,there is nothing to shout about.Just look back 50 years and search for any big fish caught and prosecuted then you can foretell what this Ahmad fellow can do.

  33. If Jeffrey’s explanation on MACC Act holds true, then the power of AG will further be strengthened with the immunity protection under MACC Act. Does this mean that from now on the Yang Dipertuan Agong will no longer be able to remove AG by the establishment of a tribunal court at the advice of the Prime Minister even if the AG is found to have committed the wrongful act of intentional prosecutorial negligence or intentional prosecutorial omission?

    Who is in fact the most powerful man in Malaysia – the Prime Minister or the AG?

  34. “Is Ahmad Said the most suitable candidate to be the first Chief Commissioner of the MACC?”

    The proper and more apt question might be :

    “Are we so lacking in talent that we can’t find anybody else who is suitable to appoint?”

    Who recommended Ahmad Said and how was his appointment made? Were there any other names put forward?

  35. Ahmad Said is appointed automatically by the passing of MACC Act in the Parliament — a new act which replaces the old Anti Corruption Act.

    The core question here should not be whether Ahmad Said is suitable to become the first Chief Commissioner of the MACC. It should be asked that how soon Ahmad Said could be replaced by another competent and trustworthy successor!

  36. limkamput Says:

    Yesterday at 23: 41.57
    ….. Just to give you a pointer: Since when was the last time you heard of a cabinet ministers or a person in authority in Malaysia openly condemned corruption? If you have one, please let me know

    ——————————

    http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/Frontpage/20081119214212/Article/index_html

    From the article “Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said all the reports received by him on incidents of money politics in Umno would be forwarded to the party’s Disciplinary Committee for further action.

    He said the reports would also be submitted to the Anti-Corruption Agency for legal action to be taken. ”

    ——-

    Post boxing day special – you asked for one, I shall give you two.

    ——–
    http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS204698+04-Mar-2008+PRN20080304

    ” KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, March 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi said today that he was committed to continue his fight against crime and corruption ahead of the country’s general election, which is to be held this Saturday, March 8th.”

    ——–

    The above two are fairly recent which I found from a quick search. I am sure one will be able to find many more such articles.

    So perhaps the two most powerful figures in Malaysia have openly condemmed corruption. And your point being?

  37. “Since when was the last time you heard of a cabinet ministers or a person in authority in Malaysia openly condemned corruption?” Limkamput

    You’re wrong, old chap. We hear it all the time. In the papers. At various ceremonies. Over the radio. They openly lament and condemn corruption. Except that these come from the corrupt. They still think that they can fool some of the people all of the time.

  38. Commenter, Onlooker Politics rightly pointed out, Ahmad Said’s appointment is automatic by legislative fiat of MACC Act. When MACC supersedes the existing Anti Corruption Agency on 1st Jan, one just doesn’t terminate services of the ACA director general: he carries on as MACC Commissioner..but whether he gets to keep his job longer depends on whether he has requisite qualifications and qualities, the scope of which for a MACC Commissioner is wider than that of the director general of previous anti corruption agency simply because the scope and functions of MACC and the public expectations are wider and larger than that of the anti corruption agency .

    A Commissioner’s basic trait ought to be first and foremost courage and integrity. He must be prepared to execute his duties without fear or favour against big sharks or ikan bilis alike. He needs to be prepared to resign if political pressure impedes his discharge of duties.

    He needs to know the law relating to his field of work. He certainly need to know the MAC Act, in and out. That goes without saying. A law qualification will help. It is however only the beginning. He needs to have administrative competence to manage what is going to be a large MACC bureaucracy comprising besides the main investigative body, the Anti Corruption Advisory Board, Special committee on Corruption and Complaints Committee as well and how all these sub-bodies between themselves to maximise desired results. So an MBA and actual administrative experience and talent in leading well a large organisation will further help.

    This job requires him to interface with media (local & inmternational), the relevant stake holders like Civil society, NGOs and the Bar Council etc, attend seminars and conferences, both local and international, to project a public face of the country’s willingness to learn and upgrade new and effective methods to fight its own defacto culture of patronage and corruption. It is not easy to change mindset whether of the political masters controlling one’s appointment – or the public mindset that it is part of one’s work to change by education and programs launched by the MACC.

    Ultimately your performance will be adjudged by an objective benchmark – the ranking of Malaysia in Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2009, 2010 an d so on, and if it declines further and not improve, it simply suggests in public eyes that you’re not performing and should ship out. Better get the retirement nest ready. :)

    Having regard to the reason for and objective of the MACC – from government’s standpoint, of trying the address public’s antipathy against the BN for failing to curb corruption leading to the disastrous March 8th GE results – the MACC Commissioner must win public confidence and the PR game.

    If one proceeds on the assumption that the political leadership is not really sincere to have an independent MACC Commissioner to hit itself on the same foot, then the Commissioner should at least have qualities of a good actor and pretender to be able to project a public image of having such qualities earlier mentioned.

    It is not an easy job : if you do it well, you are likely to be sacked by the political masters.

    If you appease the political masters, public criticisms of your lack of independence and guts will render your role unhelpful to the political masters, so one has to be replaced as well.

    To keep it you have to pretend and convince public that you’re really doing the job well, without really doing it. That’s a really tall order. Not many drawn from the public service (as the MACC Act mandates) would have all these qualities for the hot and high profile job.

  39. The latest on Mahathirism is that his best friend and buddy from Yemen is in trouble with the banks, so his guy from Yemen needs a bailout.

    This guy from Yemen proposed to sell land around the Senai airport to a publicly listed company which he controls, but the minority watchdog group has objected to the price asked. The SC apparently is going to question the valuation of the land. So now the alternative is to push for an alternative deal – the sale of a stake in one of his power plants to TNB for an inflated price. He bought this stake for 1.7 billion in 2004 and proposes to sell this back to TNB for 2.9 billion – in a rapidly deteriorating economic environment.

    No prizes for guessing who in UMNO is in support of this deal. And this support doesn’t come free.

    MACC, are you listening ?

  40. When the HK ICAC was formed, from the head to the bottom, they brought in ALL new people. The head was actually someone from UK and a large number were just fresh overseas graduates with no link to the establishment. Top officers had impeccable credentials many from top unis like Cambridge and Oxford. Our Cambridge and Oxford graduate however learn to be corrupt very quickly though case in point – famous SIL.

  41. godfather, they are not listening and will never be. By the way when I said, openly condemn, it means condemnation with specifics, vigour and vengeance, not that kind of cosmetic condemnations like school teachers telling students the evil of corruption in our society. Can you not have the last say in everything?

  42. To all the wannabe lawyers out there. Please bear in mind always that it is pointless to know all the laws and the institutional framework if you have no common sense and courage to break away from the existing mould. It is a sheer waste of time and space to tell us what the MACC and its commissioner can do and can not do. In the nutshell, don’t try to show you are clever.

    Given the present national ethos and the political scheme of things, it does not matter who is the commissioner. All will be ineffective, because the commitment, the support, the urgency and the love for nationhood is not there. I dare say very few people in Malaysia today, including our leaders, love Malaysia in their hearts. All are in the hurry to make a quick one, enjoy as much power and privileges as they can before leaving the scene. A commissioner genuinely able to do something in accordance with the spirit (and not the letter) of the act will NOT be appointed commissioner in the first place, if you know what I meant. We have sufficient number of people to ensure that the appointment of a genuine corruption fighter will not happen.

  43. “Prosecutorial misconduct is a prosecutor’s improper or illegal act (or failure to act) … ” Black’s Law Dictionary.

    Ya, in Malaysia, which mouse is going to bell the cat, undergrad2@talking cock

  44. Jeffrey – an understanding of law and an MBA? Are you reading your own CV? ;-)

    I would be happy to trust an Anti Corruption Agency head who was a capable civil servant, nothing more. I don’t see why they shouldn’t engage the services of individuals and companies from the private sector on a case-by-case basis. Surely for the sake of Anti-Corruption, all that’s needed is someone who can keep track of issues and deal with them in a pedantic manner? If they can look at a problem and say “this needs a lawyer / ecologist / accountant”, that’s good enough, isn’t it? I think trusting every last detail to the government, or a government trying to demonstrate that it is competent in every single last facet of organisation is what has got Malaysia into the corrupted mess it is now.

    “an objective benchmark”
    The TI league table, or any league table for that matter, instantly fails the objectivity test. What if you have a capable ACA chief, but every other country suddenly finds an ACA god? Malaysia will go flying down the table, even though things are improving. If (for example) the USUK War On Terra convinces every country but Malaysia to implement draconian Security Laws, license their media and keep everything secret, Malaysia will go flying up the tables, even though nothing has changed.

    What then would be an objective measure? I don’t know – I’m only criticising your choice because I’m sulking that nobody laughed at my Cole’s Law joke.

  45. OrangRojak:

    You should know by now that coleslaw is not typical Bolehland diet.

    Re your suggestion of outsourcing from the private sector, I can see the following scenario developing: some UMNO chaps decide to form a private investigative company, and then they go get a 20 year concession from the ACA for the provision of “services”. Exclusively. Every investigation will start from top down. Not bottom up. Top down means asking questions like “What do you want the outcome to be ?” or “What is it in it for me ?”.

    This is why we are called Bolehland.

  46. I still can’t think of an objective measure. What TI has going for it is that it is an external assessment. I suppose it’s entirely likely that the ACA could do a great job of tackling corruption, successfully closing many large-scale cases, but deal only with corruption in a subset of Malaysia’s population. This subset could be anybody opposed to government, or even anybody opposed to the ACA. I don’t know what mechanism could prevent such selective abuse.

    I see the UN has a Convention Against Corruption that Malaysia has signed but not ratified, and the OECD has something similar that Malaysia is not a member of. According to wikipedia (that well-known source of consensual fact), Cambodia and Indonesia have both ratified the UN CAC. The reports of UN Special Rapporteurs on different aspects of Malaysia’s governance make for interesting, if depressing reading. Perhaps the performance of the Anti-Corruption Commission could be linked to assessments from either the UN or OECD? It would be nice to see the occasional credible response from the government to these external reports.

  47. “I suppose it’s entirely likely that the ACA could do a great job of tackling corruption, successfully closing many large-scale cases..” OrangRojak

    The job of any anti-corruption agency in Malaysia is to investigate cases involving senior politicians with the aim of absolving them from all charges. Their work is to look for exculpatory evidence. In the unlikely event the case goes to court, their duty is to find them not guilty for lack of evidence and acquit them. The rule against double jeopardy would do the rest.

  48. Witness Protection Programs???

    Do you mean that the two suspects who are alleged to kill Altantaya with C4 will be qualified for such a James Bond type of program? Whether convicted or not convicted, they will be given a NEW IC with a new name and some modified bio-data in it!

    What an exciting SPY movie on the quiet way of making! I think I will quit the money-and-sex soup opera for the time being and change tune to watch the Spy movie from now on!

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