No evidence of delayed or shelved probes, says MACC panel

 MACC's operations evaluation panel says there have been no issues so far.

MACC operations evaluation panel chairman Ahmad Rosli Sham said the agency is receptive to the panel’s feedback, including recommendations to strengthen the expertise of its investigators.

GENTING HIGHLANDS:

 The operations evaluation panel (PPO) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has found no indication that cases were deliberately delayed or shelved, with most investigation papers meeting the agency’s deadlines.

Its chairman, Ahmad Rosli Sham, said a key focus of the panel was the percentage of investigation papers completed within the prescribed timeframe, including cases capped at a 12-month investigation period.

“It is rare for me or other PPO members to question why a case did not meet the target. Only when it does not will we request an explanation. So far, there have been no issues.

“It is not a matter of deliberately delaying action, dragging out investigations, or shelving cases. We have not found any evidence of that,” he told reporters during a journalism workshop here.

Commenting on the PPO’s role, Rosli said the panel not only monitored operational efficiency but also reviewed cases classified as “no further action” (NFA) to ensure that no investigative gaps were overlooked.

“The evaluation looks at several aspects, the first being whether there are any weaknesses in the investigation that need to be addressed.

“If an investigation fails to consider a particular angle, we provide instructions or advice to explore it further, including in situations where the probe may not reveal a corruption offence but could uncover other potential violations,” he said.

During an earlier talk with local media, he said that from 2009 until last year, MACC submitted 1,869 investigation papers classified as NFA to the PPO.

The panel agreed with 1,760 NFA decisions while 136 cases were directed for review.

Rosli said MACC was receptive to the panel’s feedback, including recommendations to strengthen the expertise of its investigators.

“When we provide comments, MACC does not become defensive or try to justify itself. They take our feedback into account,” he said. - FMT