Bribe givers fear us, says MACC

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Dzulkifli Ahmad is of the opinion that bribe givers are afraid of the commission.

Citing news articles on actions taken by MACC thus far, Dzulkifli believes that the commission is indeed feared.

"Many people I met said that they can see how the level of corruption has decreased. We think this is a positive result from the actions we have taken," he said, vowing that such actions would continue.

"I promised earlier this year (that corruption will be investigated) and I never break my promises. There will be investigations and prosecutions on a weekly basis," Dzulkifli said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

This may also be one of the reasons why he is confident that Malaysia will perform better in this year’s Corruption Perceptions Index, after dropping one place in 2016. 

"InsyaAllah, I am confident and I believe that we will perform better this year than last year."

Earlier in the day, Dzulkifli said that the collaborations between MACC and Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) in the Gerakan Revolusi Anti Rasuah (Gerah) and 3J – “Jangan hulur, jangan kawtim, jangan settle” (Don't give and don't settle) – campaigns are designed to encourage the people to reject bribes and corruption.

'We want to empower the people'

"We want to empower the people to say no to corruption and to bribe givers. Society has to loathe corruption and bribe-givers.

"Remember, MACC is with the rakyat, we will defend the rakyat.

"This is a warning to the country's traitors, if you want to continue being involved in corruption, I vow that the MACC will ensure that such traitors are dragged to court and punished,” he stressed.

His speech was reminiscent of sentiments expressed earlier in the year that it would only be a matter of time before corrupt politicians are ensnared by the jaws of justice.

On the issue of MACC's anti-corruption pledge, Dzulkifli said the commission was still awaiting feedback from the Selangor state government on whether it would sign the pledge.

"All state governments have signed the pledge, with the exception of Selangor. We are still waiting for them to state whether they want to do so or not," he said.

Menteri Besar Azmin Ali said last week that Selangor has moved beyond the MACC pledge, and has implemented its own measures to prevent corruption within the administration. - Mkini