74PC GRAFT CASES SETTLED WITHIN A YEAR
Courts, MACC praised for quick resolving of cases
AINA NASA
KUALA LUMPUR news@nst.com.my
ATOTAL of 74.4 per cent of corruption cases in the country have been settled within a year of registration in court, highlighting the government’s efforts in fighting corruption.
The National Key Results Area (NKRA) of Fighting Corruption reported that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was at the forefront to ensure the cases were undertaken efficiently.
The establishment of 14 special corruption courts for each state and the Federal Territory had allowed the Malaysian judiciary to hear and adjudicate on the cases in a shorter time frame.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan told the New Straits Times the key performance indicator for solving a corruption case was one year, and the government was happy with how the effort was turning out. “The real issue (in disposing of cases) depends on the seriousness of the case.
“As we know, recently, many cases by the MACC are serious and involve large sums of money.
“We do, however, stick to the one-year mark to dispose of cases and judges are also expected to clear the backlog and speed up hearings,” he said.
The report also highlighted that 96.6 per cent of issues highlighted in the Auditor General’s Report 2014 Series 1-3 had been successfully dealt with and resolved within a year of being tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.
In addition, the signing of the Corporate Integrity Pledge (CIP) by 800 companies aims to steer companies towards putting corruption prevention measures into place.
CIP and the Corporate Integrity Systems Malaysia (CISM) framework have been taken up by many private companies interested in weeding out corrupt practices within their organisations.
Most of the companies, the report mentioned, had started implementation measures, except for a fraction that were yet to implement concrete measures against corruption, either treating the CIP as more of an agreement-in-principle or due to the lack of knowledge in practising it.
In addition to the CIP and CISM, this NKRA also regards the implementation of political financing regulations and guidelines as its top priority for 2017.
Following its establishment in August 2015, last year the National Consultative Committee on Political Funding announced 32 recommendations encompassing three main areas — the implementation process of the reform, the need for the new law and its content, and wider and longerterm issues.