MALAYSIANS should look at Latheefa Koya’s appointment as the new anti-graft chief positively although she has no investigative or enforcement background, said Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) president Dr Muhammad Mohan.

Despite lacking those skills, Latheefa, who assumed the position of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner on June 1, is an accomplished lawyer, he said.

The Prime Minister’s Department announced her appointment yesterday.

“She should be given a chance. She knows the law well. So give her the chance to prove herself.”

The appointment has been questioned as it did not go through Parliament with several also saying that the process should have been more transparent.

Some even questioned her background, asking if she has the experience to shoulder this huge responsibility.

Muhammad said it is going to be a huge challenge for Latheefa.

“It is going to be a big challenge for Latheefa. How she is going to get things going.

“She has to be a fast learner and get the support of all the officers from both the national and state agencies to push her (anti-corruption) agenda forward,” Muhammad told The Malaysian Insight.

The MACC has welcomed its new and first woman chief commissioner and pledged to support her.

Latheefa, 46, replaces Mohd Shukri Abdull, who asked for his contract to be shortened from his full tenure which is to end on May 17 next year.

Muhammad said her predecessor Shukri was removed previously from his post and then brought back again.

“Within a year, he has done a good job by opening all the high-profile cases and various people have been charged.

“So, he has done his part and today MACC is respected as opposed to two years ago.”

Shukri was appointed as MACC chief on May 18 last year.

He served with the commission for 32 years before opting for early retirement on July 31, 2016 as deputy chief commissioner (operations).

He was then brought back by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to lead the commission after Pakatan Harapan won federal power.

Muhammad said during the Barisan Nasional administration, the people’s confidence level in the anti-graft agency was low, but today it is high because of Shukri.

“We have so many-high profile cases in the past and at the end, they were acquitted.

“With Latheefa at the helm, it is critical that the high-profile cases are won.

“Because public perception will go against the new chief even though these cases were before her time,” he added.

He hopes that she will quickly learn the job and bring MACC to a higher level than what it is currently.

“The conviction rate is very important. There is no point having 100 cases and lose 90% of them.” – June 5, 2019.