Alleged misconduct in agency: Loke to meet MACC chief

 

Transport Minister Anthony Loke wants to meet with MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki to seek an explanation following a news report on alleged misconduct by staff of an agency under the ministry.

“I have no information because this is (based on) a media report.

“But because he (Azam) mentioned an agency under the Transport Ministry, I will request an appointment with the MACC chief to meet him and get further details,” he said.

Loke said this to reporters after attending the Transport Ministry’s “Simpulan Kasih Malaysia Madani “ programme today.

An English daily today published Azam’s revelation that some government agencies have been ignoring over 500 reports of misconduct involving their staff, despite the MACC recommending them to take action.

The agencies include the Road Transport Department, the police, religious authorities, and hospitals.

MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki

Loke, who viewed the news report seriously, said the meeting with Azam was a preliminary step before taking any action to be fair to any officer or staff who may be involved and avoid pointing fingers without evidence.

Another step is to obtain a list of staff names and cases involving them, Loke said.

“I will not compromise with any misconduct and will cooperate fully if the report has strong evidence,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Home Ministry will study a report detailing 125 misconduct cases involving police personnel that have not been acted on, as exposed by the MACC today.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said although the number is rather small compared to the 122,000 police personnel in the country, it needed to be addressed immediately.

“We will study the report and see where things can be improved, we should not have a denial syndrome over the report and it should not dampen police morale,” he told reporters at the PDRM Open House at the Kuala Lumpur Police Training Centre today, which was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof, Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani and Deputy IGP Razarudin Husain.

He added that there was still room for improvement to raise the integrity of the country’s main security force, as the police should be an institution that has the public’s confidence. - Mkini