Regulate instead of banning corporate gifts, says MACC deputy chief

Companies should adopt a policy for presenting gifts to government officials rather than strictly barring the practice, said MACC deputy chief commissioner Shamsun Baharin Mohd Jamil.

Shamsun, who is in charge of corruption prevention efforts, said that the culture in the country made it difficult for a strictly no-gift policy to be employed.

This, he added, had seen some companies still dishing out corporate gifts despite saying they practice a no-gift policy.

"If you ask me personally, I don't agree with certain organisations saying that they implement the no-gift policy. There is no such thing as no-gift policy here, given the culture of our people.

"They (companies) have corporate gifts and they still give this out. If you adopt a no-gift policy, this should be stopped totally," he said.

Shamsun spoke to reporters after launching the 2nd Malaysia Anti-Corruption Forum organised by the International Strategy Institute at a hotel in Putrajaya this morning.

The senior anti-graft officer, who has been in service for 36 years, stressed that regulating gift practices would be the more viable option.

This way, he added, an organisation can set a guideline on the do's and dont's.

"For us, there should be a gift policy (which states) what you can receive, or how much money you can give out.

"This is similar to the political funding law that we want, so that we can have a guideline where a (political donation) cannot simply be credited into a personal account and such.

"This is so that there is a transparent process and made known to everybody," he said.

Earlier at the event, Shamsun in his speech touched on corporate governance and the latest amendment to the MACC Act which concerns corporate liability concerning corrupt practices.

[More to follow] - Mkini