KUALA LUMPUR: Former anti-graft chief Abu Kassim Mohamed says the National Anti-Corruption Plan mooted by the government will be launched next month.
“Hopefully by next month, the government will launch an anti-corruption plan which is crucial to ensure the fight against corruption is continuous,” he said in his keynote address at a seminar on anti-corruption here today.
The seminar, jointly organised by GIACC, the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Center and the Malaysian Institute of Integrity, was to showcase best international practices in anti-corruption policies.
Kassim, who heads the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC), said the government agreed to come up with the five-year plan to ensure a “systematic and concerted effort” to fight corruption in the country.
It was drafted in place of the National Integrity Plan, launched by former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2004.
Kassim also said the guidelines on adequate procedures, included in Section 17A of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, would be launched later this evening.
“Adequate procedures refer to a series of measures which need to be taken by organisations,” he said.
He said these would govern the private sector so that commercial organisations would be able to place restrictions on any individual associated with them prohibiting them from bribing government servants or public officers when trying to acquire contracts or licences.
“Changing attitudes towards corruption shouldn’t only concern the receiving party. The givers (the people offering the bribe) also need to change their mindset,” he added.
The guidelines on adequate procedures were part of proposed amendments to the MACC Act, set out in the MACC (Amendment) Bill 2018 which was tabled for first reading in Parliament in March and gazetted in May.
The new laws introduce corporate liability provisions, whereby corporations will be liable for the corrupt practices of individuals associated with them, including partners and employees, or anyone providing services to the corporation.
Under Section 17A of the act, a commercial organisation may prove that it has “adequate procedures” to prevent corruption as its defence in court, if they are charged under the new provisions.
The Prime Minister’s Department will reportedly issue these guidelines for commercial organisations. - FMT
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