‘Change of govt ushers in new era for MACC in combating corruption’

KUCHING: The change of government at federal level following the 14th general election (GE14) has ushered a whole new dimension in the aspect of integrity and on combating corruption and abuse of power.

The job scope of the Malaysian Anti- Corruption Commission ( MACC) is now even more challenging as it strives to meet the needs of the public who want graft to be eradicated.

However, netizens would not be doing MACC any favours if they were to just post claims in social media alleging that certain individuals were corrupt but without lodging a formal complaint to the MACC, said MACC Sarawak director Razim Mohd Noor.

“Netizens and members of the public must not only lodge formal complaints but they also must provide MACC with useful information for our officers to open files and start probing the allegations.

“My job and challenges before and after the change of government were and are the same. This is because I am doing my job in accordance with the available or existing laws. We cannot be doing things outside that legal framework,” he told The Borneo Post’s sister paper Utusan Borneo in a special interview on Monday.

Razim said MACC is facing the public perception that it is not taking any action on complaints made in social media.

Brushing aside such perception, he said the commission could not simply divulge details of its investigations to the public by virtue of the provisions in the Official Secrets Act ( OSA) 1972.

He also rubbished another public perception that MACC is only interested in taking up smaller cases instead of high profile cases involving high-ranking personalities.

“Corruption and integrity are associated with perception and it would be a challenge to get support from members of the public,” he explained.

All reports received in Sarawak would be passed to the federal MACC in Putrajaya for recording purposes and to avoid duplication of works, he said, adding the Operations Assessment Panel has also been set up to guarantee transparency in any investigation.

The panel comprises members appointed by the Prime Minister who are experts in various fields and represent various professional bodies.

He said the panel is also able to recommend that certain cases be reviewed if they are not satisfied with the explanations of the MACC.

On claims of several election offences during the GE14 campaign in Sarawak, Razim said he has not received any formal complaint to- date.