“This will show that they walk the talk in the war against graft, and were not just playing to the political gallery, ” said CENBET Committee Member Low Eng Tack in a statement. “This is part of the good governance which CENBET promotes.”
The battle against corruption has to advance to the next level, added Low. “One way to do this is via institutional reforms.”
In view of this, he reiterated, “we propose that the government urgently look into tightening corruption laws to fight this scourge.”
For starters, said the CENBET Committee Member, Sections 23 and 36 of the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission Act 2009 should be amended. “These provisions contain loopholes which some ‘unscrupulous people in power’ had continued to exploit.”
Under Section 23, if a decision-maker leaves a meeting that decides on a project which he or she has an interest in, that will be good enough in the eyes of the law, he cited as an example. “In reality, that person may wield huge influence over the committee which decides on the project and this may sway their decision.”
“A more stringent provision can help curtail such obvious conflict of interest.”
Also, Section 36 of the Act needs to be amended to allow MACC to compel any individual suspected of being corrupt to declare their assets, said Low. “Any delaration should not to be just confined to those matters under investigation.”
“As long as the MACC was not empowered to do so, on such declarations, the corrupt will continue with their brazen ways.”
The two suggestions are not silver bullets, warned Low. “There are other amendments to the Act that can help give more bite to the anti-corruption drive which seems to have lost even more steam of late.”
He called for making MACC answerable to Parliament. “It should not be treated like another government agency with no freedom in hiring and firing and no financial independence.”
Of late, he noted, there has been a spike in media reports on allegations of corruption, not just involving those in high office, but across the entire spectrum of those in power. “Even those who had previously been steadfast in the battle against graft had been dragged into some of these allegations.”