KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 10): The government will refer the candidate for director-general (DG) and chairman of the new National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NAFCC) to the Parliament Select Committee (PSC) before final appointment, according to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law) Datuk Liew Vui Keong.

"We don't have to amend the [NAFCC] Bill to do this, we just need to get this pass in Cabinet, for the DG and chairman appointment to be referred to PSC, and Cabinet will adhere to this principle," the de facto law minister said in a press conference after delivering his speech for the Second Reading of the NAFCC Bill today.

The Dewan Rakyat is slated to conclude on whether to pass the NAFCC Bill today, before adjourning until 4pm tomorrow (Oct 11), for the tabling of Budget 2020.

The government intends to establish the NAFCC as a statutory body, to coordinate amongst 12 existing agencies' investigations into financial crime. NAFCC will also be responsible for managing a centralised data system for financial crimes.

These agencies include Royal Malaysian Police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Royal Malaysian Customs Department and Bank Negara Malaysia.

While NAFCC will be a body under the Prime Minister Department, Liew said the government can limit the Prime Minister's power by referring the candidate for DG and chairman to the PSC.

"It has to be placed under one of the ministries, it cannot be independent from the government," he said.