Civil servants focus of 2,000 probes
Probes involve complaints of graft, power abuse and misappropriation, says Takiyuddin
KUALA LUMPUR: More than 2,000 investigation papers have been opened to probe complaints of corruption, abuse of power and misappropriation involving civil servants over the last five years, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan.
He said the investigations were conducted between 2016 and September 2020.
“The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has been tasked to help ministries and government agencies examine their working systems and procedures to ensure there are no opportunities available which can lead to corruption,” he said in reply to Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid (PHKapar).
Abdullah Sani had asked for the latest statistics of corruption offences involving civil servants and the steps taken to curb the problem.
Takiyuddin said 139 government agencies have been in talks with MACC to implement the Corruption Risk Management (CRM) initiative and 40 government agencies have done the same by having an Organisational Anti-Corruption Plan in place.
Each government agency must have tools such as the CRM and an Anti-Bribery Management System in place to fight corruption, he said, adding that the government is committed to combating graft, improving integrity and practising good governance.
He said a number of anti-corruption initiatives has been put in place by the government to tackle corruption.
“In an effort to ingrain the damage corruption can do, the government has included anti-corruption elements in the academic system and in public higher learning institutions.”
This is in line with the National AntiCorruption Plan to introduce a compulsory university course at the undergraduate level emphasising human relations and implications to the environment, he said.
Takiyuddin said under the Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission Act 2009, it is clear that any person or party, operating solo or through a group, who commits any offences as stated under Section 16, will be deemed as committing an act of corruption.
“It does not matter if they are members of the public, civil servants or political leaders.”
He was replying to a supplementary question on whether the government would expand the scope of monitoring top government leaders.
An amendment under Section 17A of the MACC Act stipulates a corporate liability clause whereby a commercial organisation can also be considered guilty if any of its employees and associates commits corruption for the organisation’s benefit, he added.