POLITICAL INTERFERENCE THE MAJOR PROBLEM, PROCUREMENT THE MOST CORRUPT – PAKATAN’S ANTI-CORRUPTION PLAN PINPOINTS THE WORST ‘HOT SPOTS’

POLITICAL interference in government administration and finance is among the key issues Malaysia faces in the fight against corruption, according to the National Anti-Corruption Plan launched by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today.

The plan said politicians mostly interfered in administrative and financial matters to serve their own interests.

“Such interferences happen in decision-making processes, especially those involving procurement, job appointments, and the legal system,” it said.

According to the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission, the majority of such cases reported from 2012 until 2014 concern procurement in the construction sector, such as negotiations with middlemen.

The plan also said that lack of leadership and political will had affected the sustainability and effectiveness of the anti-corruption initiatives undertaken thus far.

“Most, if not all, corruption-deterrent initiatives are either late, slow, or unpopular to be implemented,” it said

Several outstanding initiatives announced during the last administration that are still pending implementation include transparency in asset declarations and gift management policy by members of the administration; the setting-up of an independent agency to manage seized and forfeited assets; the initiation of proper guidelines on lobbyists; and demarcation of power between ministers and secretary-generals.

It said independence of legislation and enforcement agencies needed to be strengthened and eventually transformed into independent entities with full power to execute their functions.

“MACC, for instance, must be allowed to execute its functions independently and effectively without any political interference. Political interference in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd and Felda scandals had been among the biggest obstacle to MACC’s execution of its functions between 2015 and 2016,” it said.

It said the situation had created administrative chaos that led to high-profile reshuffling of MACC’s top management.

The plan stated that the light punishment imposed on corruption offenders, which provides under the MACC Act 2009 (Act 694) for imprisonment for a term not exceeding 20 years without setting the minimum number of days for imprisonment, made the law insensible.

“It is outdated and needs to be amended,” said the plan.

According to the plan, rampant corruption in politics and the government had aggravated the issue of inequality in terms on income, wealth, and opportunity.

“The real impact of corruption includes rising living costs, declining purchasing power, power imbalances, effect on wages and growth, and increased crime rates, made worse by the increase in public debt and leakages due to misgovernance of public funds,” it said. -– Bernama

Procurement the most corrupt sector of all

THE procurement sector recorded the highest complaints received by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission between 2013 and 2018, according to the National Anti-Corruption Plan launched by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today.

The plan’s report said that during the five years, the procurement sector recorded 42.8% of the total complaints, followed by the enforcement sector at 23.9%.

The administration, as well as licensing and permit sectors,  accounted for 13.4% and 8.6%, respectively, followed by the financing and revenue sector at 8.1%.

The complaints from other corruption-prone sectors are business and industry (1.2%), legal affair and judiciary (0.9%), services (0.5%), investment (0.4%) and defence and security (0.1%).

The document also lists six risk areas of corruption which involve political governance, public sector administration, public procurement, legal and judicial, law enforcement and corporate governance.

Public procurement refers to purchases made by the government and state-owned enterprises on goods, services, and works.

“As public procurement accounts for a substantial portion of the taxpayers’ money, it has to be carried out efficiently so as to safeguard the public interest. Procurement is most vulnerable to corruption and other illegal activities,” said the document. -– Bernama

BERNAMA