In conjunction with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) 54th anniversary, its Chief Commissioner, Datuk Seri Azam Baki said that MACC must change its approach in preventing corruption over time, and it should be in line with national progress, economic and political developments.
According to Bernama, he said that such an approach is required to be implemented immediatedly so the country will not be left behind in enforcement of corruption laws and to be on par with other developed countries.
“The MACC needs to find a more focused strategic action plan so that law enforcement is able to create an impact on the community, especially in cases involving leakage of government funds.”
“Presently, there are no laws that can be used against those who control project procurement and the MACC has proposed the inclusion of a new legal provision on the responsibility to disclose beneficial ownership in the MACC Act 2009 (Act 694).” he said during a virtual interview held in conjunction with MACC’s 54th anniversary celebration.
Azam then said that these new laws will be able to curb project cartel crimes, which will help reduce leakage and misuse of government funds.
Besides, Azam said MACC will also focus on corruption in the procurement, enforcement and grand corruption involving high-profile individuals.
“Our aim is to help the country reduce leakage of public funds, because government funds must be well-managed… so it is MACC’s duty to see that funds do not disappear just like that.”
“In terms of procurement, since 2020, there have been issues over project cartels, which have resulted in the government incurring huge losses of hundreds of millions. We have also charged a businessman who is believed to have been monopolising government projects and taking away the rights of others.” he said.
Azam said that there are several government officials who were involved in managing projects and the meat cartel issue were also arrested on suspicion of corruption.
As for the grand corruption, it involves abuse of power of high-ranking individuals, where these individuals are cunning and difficult to track down.
“Therefore, nowadays if there are reports from the public, we will not take immediate action but instead, conduct an analytical study on them… as a result, we have detained individuals who are from JUSA B and C grades after changing our approach,” he said.
Nonetheless, Azam said that the MACC have arrested 331 civil servants comprising 6 top management staff, 104 from management and professional level and the remaining were support staff, as of August 2021.
Meanwhile, he said all parties, including heads of departments, agencies or ministries, need to cooperate instead of leaving efforts to fight corruption to the MACC alone.
What do you think about this? Share your thoughts!
 54th anniversary, its Chief Commissioner, Datuk Seri Azam Baki said that MACC must change it's approach in preventing corruption over time, and it should be in line with national progress, economic and political developments.){kind=link}