THE Attorney-General Chambers should focus on retrieving the ill-gotten wealth of corrupt leaders at all costs, especially since the country badly needs it, said former PKR leaders.
Both lawyers and the former Penang PKR assemblyman agreed that the prosecution or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should intensify their investigations to claim all ill-gotten gains even if the accused has passed on or remains convicted.
Former Kebun Bunga assemblyman Jason Ong Khan Lee said criminal offences are not limited by statute, unlike civil offences.
Pilferage of the nation's public coffers is believed to be in the billions with the 1MDB standing as a symbolic account of how rotten corruption has become, Ong said.
In an age of sluggish economic growth amid political polarisation, Malaysia needs all the funds it can find to weather such challenges and ensure money is spent well for the sake of its people, he said.
Even in the US, there is now a drive for government efficiency as nations realise that an effective public service is the way forward amidst global challenges, he stressed.
"We have a legal saying here that we cannot legitimise corruption by the affliction of time. An offence remains one and even if the accused has passed on, it is the duty of the prosecution to retrieve the ill-gotten wealth from the next of kin and the family."
There is no escaping the law, as the next of kin or family must be held accountable for actions which their members had allegedly committed, especially if it is as grievous as a criminal breach of trust or misappropriation amounting to millions, he said.
Ong said that a deal can also be pursued where the accused or their families return a certain percentage of the disputed ill-gotten wealth or in full if possible.
Similarly, former Batu Uban assemblyman S. Raveentharan in voicing support to Ong's stance, said that a deal can be secured with former premier Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for the ill-gotten wealth from the 1MDB money laundering scandal to be returned to its rightful owners - Malaysians.
It is fine to mete out punishment but on the same token, justice must prevail - corrupted money must be returned to their rightful owners, said Raveentharan.
Citing the Philippines as an example, Raveentharan said that when the country was enveloped in endemic corruption in the 1980s, it has yet to recover till today despite becoming one of the earliest "Asean Tigers" in the 1970s in terms of growth rates.
Raveentharan said that the punishment must be stern to act as a deterrent so nobody in both the private and public sectors would want to harbour corrupt practices. - The Vibes, November 16, 2024.
