Busy time for MACC

the Shah Alam sessions court yesterday for allegedly soliciting and receiving RM36,000 in bribes.

The case followed the arrest and detention of a ministry secretarygeneral and his two sons for alleged corruption and abuse of power.

Last week, MACC seized more than RM5 million in cash and gold bars from the home of the secretarygeneral, who is a “datuk”, in USJ, Subang Jaya.

The raiding team also seized 150 luxury handbags and dozens of luxury watches.

The secretary-general and his two sons are being remanded for seven days from Jan 5 until Jan 11 to facilitate investigations into the case.

On another matter, Najib said 2017 would see Malaysia heading towards a more successful route after going through trying times during the global economic downturn last year.

He said improvement in commodity prices such as crude oil, palm oil and rubber could signal a revival of the country’s economy.

“If we look at the big picture of the world scenario, 2016 was indeed a challenging year, with uncertainty in the world economy.

“However, there are signs that provide us with hope and confidence that the situation will improve this year,” he added.

Najib also expressed confidence that the position of the ringgit would improve as Bank Negara Malaysia has taken measures to stabilise the currency.

He added that the ringgit was not the only currency suffering depreciation against the US dollar, as 123 out of the 149 world currencies have been similarly affected.