If the government is serious in fighting
corruption, it must remove the monopoly of prosecuting powers from the
attorney-general (AG), said Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo.
Gobind said the present arrangement where the AG has the sole powers to decide on the cases to be prosecuted rendered MACC a “toothless tiger”.
“The
powers of prosecution must be removed from the sole hand of the
attorney-general if we want to see real efforts to combat corruption,”
he said in an email to Malaysiakini today.
However, he said, "It is a fact that the Najib administration set up the MACC with no real determination to battle corruption, particularly against certain quarters.”
Gobind (right) was responding to minister Nazri Abdul Aziz’ criticism of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy commissioner Mohd Shukri Abdull’s recent statements.
Mohd Shukri on Thursday blamed the AG’s Chambers for not pursuing the many cases the commission had put up for prosecution.
MACC has received constant criticism for not pursuing high profile cases of corruption, such as the reports lodged against Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud.
MACC muffled
Nazri today ticked Mohd Shukri off as “weak” and told him not to “complain” reminding the latter that it was not the MACC’s job to prosecute.
Gobind said Nazri’s (left) position was correct but, going by the minister’s logic, “the MACC is far worse off”.
“They cannot even question the AG nor complain when clear cases are not pursued,” he said.
Former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim today echoed Gobind’s sentiments, relating how BN ministers had blocked his suggestion to limit the powers of the AG.
“I suppose the reason why the BN government wants to keep things as they are is that if they can ‘control’ the attorney-general, they can then exercise their power accordingly when it suits them,” said the former Umno leader and present Parti Kita chief.
Gobind said the present arrangement where the AG has the sole powers to decide on the cases to be prosecuted rendered MACC a “toothless tiger”.
“The
powers of prosecution must be removed from the sole hand of the
attorney-general if we want to see real efforts to combat corruption,”
he said in an email to Malaysiakini today.However, he said, "It is a fact that the Najib administration set up the MACC with no real determination to battle corruption, particularly against certain quarters.”
Gobind (right) was responding to minister Nazri Abdul Aziz’ criticism of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy commissioner Mohd Shukri Abdull’s recent statements.
Mohd Shukri on Thursday blamed the AG’s Chambers for not pursuing the many cases the commission had put up for prosecution.
MACC has received constant criticism for not pursuing high profile cases of corruption, such as the reports lodged against Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud.
MACC muffled
Nazri today ticked Mohd Shukri off as “weak” and told him not to “complain” reminding the latter that it was not the MACC’s job to prosecute.
Gobind said Nazri’s (left) position was correct but, going by the minister’s logic, “the MACC is far worse off”.“They cannot even question the AG nor complain when clear cases are not pursued,” he said.
Former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim today echoed Gobind’s sentiments, relating how BN ministers had blocked his suggestion to limit the powers of the AG.
“I suppose the reason why the BN government wants to keep things as they are is that if they can ‘control’ the attorney-general, they can then exercise their power accordingly when it suits them,” said the former Umno leader and present Parti Kita chief.
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