Ex-MACC officers urge govt to hasten reforms after CPI score drop

A group of former MACC officers has urged Putrajaya to hasten reform initiatives that have been planned for the country after Malaysia recorded another significant drop in the global Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

In a statement today, the Ex-MACC Officers Association called all parties, including politicians, non-government organisations, and agencies from both the government and private sectors to wake up and realise how much the index can affect Malaysia's economy.

"This association calls for the government and political parties to make anti-corruption efforts as the main agenda in the country's administration so that the country can save billions of ringgit of taxpayers' money from leakages, overzealous spending, wastage and corrupt practices.

"The government has to have the high political will in its anti-corruption agenda, which must not be rhetorical and actually brings impact that the people can feel.

"The government should no longer delay the tabling of bills on political funding, Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission, Ombudsmen, Misconduct of Public Office, separation of powers between the attorney-general and prosecutor, limitation on a prime minister's term in office, wealth declaration requirement on politicians and civil servants, issue of political appointment in government-linked companies and special ambassador, and other matters that can bring impact to the efforts to prevent corruption in this country," said the association president Mazlan Mohamad.

It was reported that Malaysia's score in the annual CPI has fallen for the second time in a row, dropping three points from last year’s report and pushing the score below the 50-point mark.

The 2021 CPI was released by Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M), showing the country's score is now 48, compared to 51 in the previous year and 53 points in 2019.

Mazlan said the time has come for the country to implement all initiatives that have been proposed under the National Anti-Corruption Plan.

The association also urged the MACC to be thorough in enforcing the country's anti-graft laws and not being selective in its investigations.

"The same goes to the prosecution, they have to be committed to charging every corruptor as per suggestion from the MACC or any other law enforcement agencies.

"We would also like to urge the prosecutor to stop withdrawing or dropping criminal charges against individuals who have been taken to face the law in court.

"The prosecutor must give back the role of decision making in corruption cases to the judiciary," the group said. - Mkini