MACC WARNS AGAINST FIELDING CORRUPT ELECTION CANDIDATES
MACC to issue ‘reminders’ once Parliament dissolved
THE Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission will issue an “official reminder” to political parties when Parliament is dissolved to make way for the 14th General Election.
The reminder was to get the parties to exercise their option of screening the candidates whom they planned to field.
Those red-flagged by the commission but were fielded anyway, would be put under the MACC’s microscope.
MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad, in sharing his three- and five-year plans with media editors, said the aim of getting the nation to abhor corruption would begin with those seeking positions “to serve the people”.
“In cases where we have intelligence but not enough evidence to open a case against the potential candidate, we will advise the party against fielding him. It should never be just about popularity. It should be about integrity. If the political party chooses to ignore our advice, it must know it will then be MACC’s turn (to act). Since I came in, I have not broken my promises. This is also my promise. I am serious about this,” he said at the first session of the newly-established AntiCorruption Media Caucus.
In the three-hour meeting, Dzulkifli shared about the commission’s groundwork in the past few months.
He said the problems the country faced, including environmental degradation, weak border control, smuggling and leakages in government revenue collection were largely attributed to corruption among enforcement agencies.
“A huge part of these problems could be resolved if all those serving in the country’s enforcement agencies said ‘no’ to graft.”
Present were his deputies, Datuk Azam Baki (operations) and Datuk Shamsun Baharin Mohd Jamil (prevention).
Dzulkifli, in illustrating the extent of the problem, cited several cases MACC had dealt with firsthand. In a joint mission with several government offices to check on leakages in the taxation system, MACC found “proof of payment” to avoid action in one establishment. The dirty money involved RM2 million.
“In a similar raid, involving just three groups in one state, it was RM5 million. This is just the tip of the iceberg.”
He said three days ago, his men trailed five lorries that had moved from a loading point in the nation’s south.
They trailed the vehicles, which were fully-loaded with smuggled cigarettes, until they eventually turned into a jungle area for offloading.