JUNE 6 — The whole situation is pretty ironic. When Pakatan Harapan was running for ruling coalition, their core promise to the people of Malaysia was to rid the country of the corruption that seeped into all corners of the land.

Yet when the Prime Minister’s Office announced the new chief of MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) this week, it soon came to light that not only did Pakatan Harapan fail with their promised transparency when appointing MACC commissioners, but the newly appointed chief has a long history with the party itself. Let’s take a deeper look at why the new choice for the MACC chief, Latheefa Koya, is so problematic.

When Pakatan Harapan was running for ruling party, they presented their election manifesto with their promised principles and ideals. One of them, Promise 14, claimed that the appointment of the MACC commissioners have to be validated by Parliament through a Select Committee.

However, it has become increasingly obvious by the reactions of politicians from all sides that the appointment of Latheefa came as a complete shock. The Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail made this loud and clear when he said he was "blindsided” when he heard about Latheefa’s appointment.

He continued stating that they were "not aware,” and that "it was not discussed in the Cabinet of the Pakatan Harapan presidential council meetings.” Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself made it known that he deliberately chose not to consult with the cabinet before his choice, "I ask others that have knowledge about this person’s character. No need for the Cabinet to make the decision. If Cabinet decides, it binds me. So with this, I am free to assess whoever is proposed and I choose,” he said.

Which leaves us to wonder why Prime Minister Mahathir decided to forgo his promises completely and choose Latheefa without consultation. Pakatan Harapan is a fairly new coalition that has but a year of experience in power, the fact that they seem to already throw their election manifesto to the dust is disturbing to say the least.

Leaving out the fact that the due process was not followed to select one of the most important people in the country, there are more red flags when it comes to the choice of Latheefa as the one to lead the country out of corruption. These include her deep ties to PKR, a component party of Pakatan Harapan, and the disturbing way she is considered by members of the party.

Latheefa ‘sent in’ her resignation as a member of PKR via email on the June 3, that’s two days after she was already appointed MACC chief. Meaning she was politically aligned and still got appointed. This goes in direct contradiction to Pakatan Harapan’s promise for non-politicians to head key institutions.

Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong, a member of Parliament and head of MCA made his opinion clear when he stated "Privately, PKR leaders regard Latheefa as a loose cannon. One cannot help but wonder if she is a suitable choice for the role.”

The MCA president also voiced his concern for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who up till now was expected to be the next Prime Minister, stating that he "feel[s] disturbed for Anwar, as it was well known that Latheefa has always targeted him,” Latheefa was part of the legal team that defended Anwar Ibrahim during his sodomy trial and there is clearly a history of tension in their relationship. Could this be a tactic of Mahathir, to go back on his decision to pass power to Anwar and slowly put Azmin’s supporters by his side?

Wee certainly seems to think so. He stated, "I hope her appointment is not some grand conspiracy scheme to stop Anwar from becoming the next prime minister.” Which continues the ironic choice, could the new choice for Anti-Corruption Commission chief be a corrupt conspiracy in and of itself?

Wee ended his impassioned statement regarding Latheefa’s appointment voicing the concern many have on their mind, "Where is the impartiality, integrity and credibility of the MACC now?” He asks, continuing that "The image of the MACC is now in tatters, and any right-minded person would not condone her appointment, including even the PKR leadership,” 

From the various responses of those in-the-know, it is clear that despite Latheefa’s qualifications for the job, both the process of her appointment, and her complex past with PKR raises severe red flags. In a country where one of the most important tasks at hand is getting rid of corruption, how can we be sure that the new MACC chief does not have elements of corruption in and of itself?

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.