The member of the G25 group of prominent retired civil servants told FMT she fully supported having a committee investigate the allegation against public service department (JPA) director-general Shafiq Abdullah, which had grabbed the attention of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
“At the same time, I don’t think it needs to comprise heads of government agencies,” she told FMT.
“Surely, lower-ranking (government) officials can do the job just as well.”
Headed by attorney-general Idrus Harun, the panel includes Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani, Auditor-General Nik Azman Nik Abdul Majid and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission head Azam Baki.
Chief secretary to the government Zuki Ali said the committee had been tasked with conducting a thorough investigation to ensure justice was served.
He said the outcome and recommendations would be presented to the prime minister.
Ismail previously said he believed it would not be difficult to get to the bottom of the matter as a video of the alleged incident was available.
Former human resources minister M Kula Segaran, who was also asked to comment on the committee’s line-up, told FMT: “I think this is ridiculous.”
“All of this (allegation) can be verified by technology. There’s no necessity for these people to be involved.”
Kula also asked Ismail why a parliamentary select committee was not tasked with investigating the alleged incident, stressing that such a body would be more impartial and independent.
The Ipoh Barat MP hoped the results of the investigation would not be “swept under the carpet”. He said it was key that a white paper be tabled in Parliament to detail the panel’s findings in the interest of transparency.
Former IGP Musa Hassan questioned why the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) was not roped in to investigate the allegation.
“Anyway, it is up to the government if they want to have a high-powered committee,” he told FMT. “The Cabinet has approved it.”
JPA has dismissed the allegation that Shafiq verbally abused the immigration officer at KLIA on Wednesday as baseless and malicious. It said such claims were aimed at tarnishing Shafiq’s image.
It also said Shafiq had “rightly reprimanded” the officer, whom it identified as James Lee, over non-compliance with procedures after he failed to check Shafiq and his delegation’s travel documents and passports.
It also said the officer was not reprimanded in front of the general public.
Home minister Hamzah Zainudin has also called on immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud to carry out an investigation to “get a clearer picture” of the incident.