Penang govt takes flak for not signing pledge
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government has come under fire for its refusal to sign the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)’s Corruption-Free Pledge, a commitment by institutions to fight graft.
Lashing out at Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s administration were Barisan Nasional’s Pulau Betong assemblyman Datuk Muhammad Farid
Saad and Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM) deputy president Datuk Huan Cheng Guan.
Both expressed shock over MACC chief commissioner Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad’s revelation that the state government had refused to sign the pledge.
Farid said he found it strange that the DAP-led administration, which often preached the “Competency, Accountability and Transparency” (CAT) mantra and wanted to fight graft, had refused to sign the pledge.
“What is there for the state government to fear in signing the pledge? Although it is not mandatory under the law to sign the pledge, its refusal to do so shows that Lim’s administration is not serious about fighting graft,” he said yesterday.
“Malaysians should not be tricked by the promises made by Pakatan Harapan, among others, to fight graft. After all, the Penang government is under DAP, a component party of Pakatan Harapan,” Farid said.
He was responding to Dzulkifli’s statement that he regretted the Penang government’s refusal to sign the pledge.
Dzulkifli had said he found the Penang administration’s attitude strange because other opposition-led states, such as Kelantan and Selangor, had voiced their willingness to sign the pledge.
Farid questioned if the state government’s refusal to sign the pledge had anything to do with the graft charges faced by Lim, who is awaiting trial.
Concurring with Farid was Huan, who said the Penang government’s refusal to sign the pledge showed its lack of seriousness in fighting graft.
“It also shows that Lim’s statement that ‘Penang is serious in fighting graft’ is mere rhetoric to garner the people’s sympathy.”
Huan said the state government’s refusal to sign the pledge had raised questions as to whether its action was linked to Lim’s graft charges.