Ayob Khan said the police should detect such corrupt officers before agencies such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) do so.

“If possible, the police should take action from the very beginning.

“Don’t let others take action first as this will make us look like we are not being proactive,” Berita Harian reported him as saying.

“There was a corruption case involving an assistant superintendent recently, but it was MACC which made the arrest. How can we show our faces now?”

He noted that while leaders must take a proactive stance in combating corruption, some are reluctant to do so as they may be involved in corrupt practices themselves or fear becoming unpopular.

Ayob Khan also said there were certain leaders who were not involved in corrupt practices but were “afraid” to take action, stating that such people are unfit to be leaders.

He was speaking to reporters at the Negeri Sembilan Integrity Day celebration in Seremban.

Ayob Khan said issues such as the lack of integrity, misconduct, poor governance and leakages are still widespread despite various efforts by the government to combat them.

“For example, some people at the grassroots level might want money to vote for (politicians) during elections. If they don’t get it, they won’t vote for them (politicians). This is a form of corruption,” he said.

“We should not just blame the leaders at the top. The entire society must play a role so that we can tackle corruption.”