Najib didn't chant 'reformasi' but did much better than Anwar, says ex-MACC boss

The former head of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has given a scathing assessment of the Pakatan Harapan-led coalition government, saying Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had not only failed to live up to his reform slogans, but had proved to be worse than previous leaders through a series of actions against democracy and human rights.

Latheefa Koya, who was appointed as MACC's chief commissioner at the height of prosecutions linked to the 1MDB scandal, also gave the government a score of "minus 10" when it comes to legal reforms.

"Normally, the scale is between zero and 10, but in the context of the current government's legal reforms, not only has it not implemented any reforms, but the situation has actually worsened," she rights lawyer said in an interview with Mingguan Malaysia, the Sunday edition of Utusan Malaysia.

Latheefa, who headed MACC for nine months before stepping down in the wake of the collapse of the PH government led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad in February 2020, also warned that the anti-graft agency was increasingly seen as a political tool.

"There is a perception that MACC is being used to investigate those who are seen as not siding with the government."

She said that in contrast, MACC under her leadership was not politicised or used as a tool to disgrace the government's enemies.

"That is why during my time at the MACC, I did not allow anyone who was charged or remanded to be to be brought to court in the orange lock-up uniform.

"I couldn't care if the person is a VIP or not, but they must not be humiliated before they were investigated, charged or convicted as they have dignity and family members who must be protected," she told the Malay-language paper.

Praise for Najib's reforms

In a rare praise for Najib Razak, Latheefa said the former prime minister had shown more commitment to implementing reforms than Anwar, even though the latter had made "reformasi" his main slogan during his two decades in opposition.

"During Najib's tenure, he did not shout 'reformasi' but we know what he did for the country, that he repealed the Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA). I cannot imagine what will happen if ISA is still around today," she said.

Latheefa, who as head of MACC saw dozens of individuals, entities and businesses being slapped with criminal charges involving hundreds of millions of ringgit in connection with 1MDB, said this does not mean she supports Najib.

"Leave aside the issue of Najib's corruption case, that's another matter," said Latheefa, who in early 2020 famously released nine audio recordings of phone conversations involving Najib, his wife Rosmah Mansor and several other key players in the 1MDB scandal.

"I am just being objective as a Malaysian. Let's be fair. We talk about reforms but the one who carried out the reforms was someone else," said Latheefa, a former member of PKR's central leadership council who was once part of Anwar's legal team.

Anwar has come under increasing criticism for a series of U-turns on political and economic reforms, as well as a series of legislative and constitutional amendments that critics describe as regressive, including the recently passed changes to citizenship laws and the proposal to introduce a new law on the powers of the Federal Territories mufti which has sparked protests from rights activists and Islamic scholars.

Since coming to power, Anwar's government has also seen a series of prosecutions against his political enemies using draconian laws he once opposed, as well as claims that he interfered in MACC's affairs.

During his nine years in power, Najib introduced a series of economic and political reforms, most notably the abolition of ISA, the colonial-era law that had been used for decades by previous governments to imprison political opponents without trial.

Najib's government also enacted the Peaceful Assembly Act, which ended the need to apply for police permit to hold public protests.

Latheefa cited the authorities' failure to charge a policeman escorting a royal entourage after he was caught on video assaulting a disabled e-hailing driver, as well as the frequent use of the Sedition Act, as examples of Anwar turning his back on his promises of reform.

She said that in contrast, Najib, at the very least, had amended the Sedition Act so that criticising the government was no longer a crime.

"Today, not only people can no longer criticise or ridicule the government, they are summoned to the police station, and now the government even comes up with a law that does not exist in the legal context, making it a crime to talk about 3R (race, royalty and religion).

"In which law is this mentioned? There is no such thing, but the government so conveniently categorises someone's criticism as 3R," she added.

Similarly, Latheefa said the government's active use of the Communications and Multimedia Act against political opponents points to a witch-hunt against anyone who criticises the government.

She said PH leaders should stop justifying their failure to implement reforms by arguing that they were now part of the "unity government", adding that such an excuse was dangled even before any reform plan was announced.

"This is a petty excuse and they have no political will to bring about changes that they themselves had promised."