MACC: No more poison pen letters

 

Thorough investigation: Azam said even if a poison pen letter was sent to the MACC, the agency would scrutinise the letter first. — Bernama

PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will no longer accept poison pen letters on corruption or abuse of power unless they are accompanied by complete and strong documents for investigation purposes, says chief commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki.

The commission had a special committee which met on weekdays to evaluate information on cases, he said.

He said MACC did not want anyone to be victimised by poison pen letters.

“As such, I wish to urge the public to furnish information on cases with the assurance that their identities are kept secret and protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act, ” he said in conjunction with MACC’s 53rd anniversary yesterday.

He said even if a poison pen letter was sent to the MACC, the agency would scrutinise the letter first.

“We will not entertain a poison pen letter which only makes accusations. We will only respond if the letter contains a name or an email, ” he said.

When asked if MACC could take action against MPs or state assemblymen who switched parties, Azam said MACC currently did not have any power under the law to bar politicians from doing so.

“It is up to the MPs to draw up a law. MACC will conduct investigations if there are elements of corruption, ” he said, referring to politicians being paid to switch party.

To date, Azam said there was no evidence of such cases taking place but there were instances where certain parties had furnished information but declined to give their cooperation.

Meanwhile, MACC is celebrating its 53rd anniversary amid a stiff challenge of having to deal with the increasingly ingenious tactics perpetrators of economic crime are resorting to these days.

Azam, who was appointed chief commissioner on March 9, said the use of digital technology by perpetrators was making it difficult for MACC to detect money trails.

Another challenge MACC has to constantly grapple with is the public perception that the commission is not independent or seen to be not independent and unable to discharge its duties professionally without “external” interference.

Admitting that it is not easy to change public perception, Azam said two main principles, one of which was the decision to appoint the next MACC chief commissioner under the Federal Constitution which will require amendments to the Constitution, were among the initiatives carried out to gain public confidence.

“Second is the government’s approval for the establishment of the Corruption Prevention Service Commission. Both these initiatives will need to secure the approval of MPs, ” he said.

Other measures to gain public confidence include appointing a more professional enforcement team, considering that MACC – previously known as the Anti-Corruption Agency – is now focusing on cases related to leakage of funds, issues of public interest and even national security.

On MACC’s direction, Azam said that over the next three years, its focus would be on fighting economic crime and helping the government to reduce leakage of public funds.

Most of the corruption cases from 2015 till now involved leakage from government procurement and that there were even cases of government officers misappropriating funds in connection with government procurement that led to millions of ringgit in losses, he said.

He also said anti-corruption awareness programmes were bearing fruit as a number of cases handled by MACC over the last three years were based on information received from whistleblowers.

“From 2016 to August this year, a total of 231 individuals were provided protection. Out of this number, 127 were employees from the public sector while 30 were members of the public and private sector workers, ” he said, referring to whistleblowers. — Bernama