KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 — Talk is rife that Malaysia’s top police intelligence official may replace Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed as the next chief of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), but Datuk Seri Mohamad Fuzi Harun dismissed it as mere speculation.
Mohamad Fuzi who has barely warmed the seat as director of the Special Branch (SB) five months, was taken aback by the rumours when contacted by Malay Mail Online today.
“No, I don’t know about that… I have been heading the counter-terrorism department… why do they want to put me there?
“I am not going to accept if they put me there also,” he said, laughing.
“These are all just rumours… pure rumours,” he added.
Mohamad Fuzi was head of the police’s special task force operations and counter-terrorism unit before he was picked to replace the then SB director Datuk Seri Akhil Bulat who had reached the retirement age of 62 last July.
He was also briefly acting deputy inspector-general of police after Tan Sri Mohd Bakri Zinin retired on September 5, 2014.
Earlier today, a well-placed source told Malay Mail Online that Mohamad Fuz’s name had been floated as a possible successor to Abu Kassim whose health had declined last year.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, however said questions surrounded Mohamad Fuzi’s suitability as MACC chief even though he was a seasoned crimebuster and experienced in counter-terrorism efforts.
“His name is being mentioned, but we are being a little sceptical as to whether he can oversee this commission the same way Tan Sri did,” the source said, using the honorific title to refer to Abu Kassim.
“It is also going to portray MACC negatively with a change such as this… the world is watching us and this is not going to bode well if it happens as it shows as if MACC’s independence is being compromised,” the source told the Malay Mail Online.
The MACC was probed by the police last year after a purported draft charge sheet naming Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and a director of a former unit of 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) surfaced online.
Several senior-ranking MACC officials were hauled up over the matter, earning Putrajaya and the police force brickbats from the public and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for alleged interference with ongoing anti-graft investigations.
