Pakatan Rakyat leader Lim Kit Siang has criticised the appointment of Ahmad Said Hamdan – the existing head of the soon-to-be-defunct Anti-Corruption Agency – as the first commissioner for the much-hyped Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

“The implication is very clear – that the ACA had corruption cases which it has not been able to prosecute because of various constraints and considerations all boiling down to political interference,” the well-respected DAP adviser wrote in his blog.

“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 ICAC.”

What’s the difference if the head is the same?

Due to begin operations on Jan 1, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s ruling Barisan Nasional government had promised the MACC would be modelled after Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

The ACA – perceived to be under the thumb of political figures – has drawn intense fire from the people for its allegedly selective prosecution of cases. It has been accused of closing an eye on the ‘big fish’ and chasing after only ‘small fry’.

Kit Siang was responding to a news report in local media that said the MACC would become operational on Jan 1, with Ahmad at the helm. The announcement was made by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Aziz.

“The first question is whether Ahmad Said is the most suitable candidate to be the Chief Commissioner of the MACC,” Kit Siang said. “Would Malaysians be able to see a stark difference between the new MACC and the old ACA.”