The group said that having the AG lead the task force may give rise to perceptions of institutional conflict, given his role as the government’s principal legal adviser and the authority responsible for prosecutions.
“While the AG may sit on the task force in view of his constitutional role and legal expertise, he should not chair it,” it said in a statement.
G25 said this investigation must not only be fair but should also be clearly seen to be independent of the executive branch.
“In matters of integrity at the highest levels, independence must be beyond question. Even the perception of internal oversight may undermine trust in the process and its eventual findings,” it said.
G25 suggested that public confidence would be better served if the task force was chaired by a retired senior judge or an equally independent and respected figure with no direct reporting line within the current administrative hierarchy.
It also urged the government to put the MACC chief commissioner on garden leave while investigations are under way to prove that the administration is taking the allegations seriously and that no one is above the rule of law or beyond public scrutiny.
Chief Secretary Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar announced yesterday that AG Dusuki Mokhtar would lead the special task force.
Treasury secretary-general Johan Mahmood Merican and the director-general of the public services department, Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz, will also be on the committee, which will submit its findings and recommendations to the prime minister and disciplinary authority.
G25 said the scope of the task force’s inquiry must not be confined solely to investigating the MACC chief commissioner but needs to address the wider and troubling allegations that the MACC itself has operated in a manner akin to a “corporate mafia”.
“These are serious claims that go to the integrity of the institution as a whole and therefore require a thorough, independent, and comprehensive review. This is necessary to uphold public confidence in our institutions,” it added.
Bloomberg had reported allegations of a loose network of businessmen who would purchase shares in locally owned companies before intimidating executives – with the help of MACC officials – and forcing them out.