KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat speaker Datuk Johari Abdul agreed there is the need to set up a Special Parliamentary Select Committee to look into the appointment of senior government officials in "sensitive" agencies, such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and Election Commission (EC).

He said the placement of sensitive agencies and selection of their heads under parliamentary oversight is the best move to ensure that the bodies remain independent and unbiased towards certain individuals or parties.

"The request for this direction has been made long ago, and I agree that several important positions be placed under the Parliament, meaning that it is not the responsibility of the Dewan Rakyat speaker, but the responsibility of the Parliament itself.

"Among the (sensitive) posts of the agencies include the MACC chief commissioner and the EC head… in addition to four to five other agency positions. We have to form a Special Select Committee to make this a reality.

"It is also the people's wish to see changes where these agencies answer to the Parliament and the Parliament is given updates on things that happened under their watch," said Johari in an exclusive interview with Berita Harian.

Prior to this, several parties, including Dewan Negara president Tan Sri Dr Rais Yatim and Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M), have been pushing for MACC and EC, together with the selection of their respective heads, be placed under the purview of the Parliament to ensure independence and transparency.

Johari believed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is known to emphasise integrity and good governance in the administration, was also thinking in the same direction.

He said the promise to strengthen the Parliament related to the appointment of the key government positions, such as the attorney-general, inspector-general of police, chief justice, MACC chief commissioner and Bank Negara Malaysia governor was also included in the Pakatan Harapan's (PH) manifesto during the 15th General Elections (GE15).

"I remember that the prime minister (Anwar) has stressed on this many times, and I think it is also in his mind that some of these important positions be placed under the purview of Parliament," said Johari.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2023/02/876687/sensitive-agencies-need-be-placed-under-parliaments-purview-says-speaker