This Policy Ideas explores negative public perception of MACC’s independence and recommends several steps that can be taken to improve this perception. By learning from the experience of anti-corruption agencies of Hong Kong and Indonesia, IDEAS recommends that:

1. The judiciary and the Attorney General’s office must be reformed alongside the MACC. The Hong Kong experiece shows that the integrity of the judiciary and the Attorney General’s office is more important than whether MACC has prosecution powers.
2. There must be greater Parliamentary involvement as the current arrangement is not sufficient. The reports by MACC must be made public and discussed in Parliament.
3. MACC must recruit its own staff to ensure MACC’s independence as well as attracting best possible candidates to be part of MACC.
4. For the same reason, the recruitment of the MACC Commisioner should also be open to the public.