“Abu Kassim has a lot of experience in this area, including on the international front,” Dr Mahathir Mohamad told reporters here when announcing Abu Kassim’s leadership of the Pusat Governans, Integriti dan Anti-Rasuah Nasional (GIACC).

He was accompanied by Abu Kassim and Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Mahathir added that combating corruption had been among the promises made by the Pakatan Harapan government.

Abu Kassim was appointed MACC chief commissioner on Jan 1, 2010, but his services were discontinued on Aug 1, 2016.

He was appointed as a faculty member of the International Anti-Corruption Academy in Austria, a world-renowned anti-corruption institution under the United Nations.

During his tenure, Abu Kassim oversaw several high profile cases including the SRC International case and the RM2.6 billion fund linked to 1MDB.

Last month, he met with Mahathir as the prime minister had wanted more information believed to be related to these two cases.