Probe JMM allegations, urges Cuepacs

(Bernama) -- The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) has asked the authorities to investigate allegations that Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) had bribed civil servants to cover up information on its foreign funding and to gather information related to national security and government secrets.

Its president, Datuk Omar Osman, said any civil servant found to have been involved should be given the appropriate punishment.

"It is up to the authorities (to take action). Civil servants should not be accepting bribes. We have ethics which we must adhere to," he told Bernama.

Omar was commenting on a statement by Azwanddin Hamzah, president of the non-governmental organisation Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM), yesterday that Suaram had received more than US$100 million (about RM305.35 million) to organise street protests and that it had also bribed government officers.

Suaram has categorically denied the allegations that it had bribed government officers to cover up information on its foreign funding and to gather information related to national security and government secrets.

It also challenged JMM to substantiate its allegations and demanded an immediate apology and retraction of the allegations should JMM fail to do so.

Omar said he was not sure why JMM had hurled the allegations at civil servants.

"Nevertheless, we advise civil servants to distance themselves from bribery to maintain the integrity of the civil service and secure their own future," he said.