KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has been rapped for not acting quickly on graft cases involving civil servants, despite its assurance that public officials will be protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010.
In a statement today, Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran questioned MACC’s willingness to investigate reports filed against government officials, “ranging from small-time bribery cases to multimillion-dollar corruption cases”, despite agency chief Datuk Seri Azam Baki saying such complaints will be covered under the whistle-blower law.
The DAP rep cited a case in August 2019, in which a complaint against a public official was made to MACC.
“This particular case was a payment made to the contractor for work that was not physically done on site. A site visit by MACC would have easily confirmed that to be the case.
“This particular officer has also split projects into smaller contracts to avoid tender, as well as awarded contracts to a company that is financially related to him.
“It is now January 2021, and we have yet to receive an end to the case, even though my office has been diligently following up with MACC every couple of months via letters, emails and phone calls. I can’t imagine that it takes more than a year to investigate these allegations, and either charge this officer in court or dismiss the complaints.”
Rajiv said Selangor MACC director Datuk Alias Salim was quick to deny any delay in its investigation, instead saying the probe is ongoing and pursued according to procedures.
But, said the rep, “until today, the officer who is involved and who should be the ‘person under investigation’ still holds his office”.
Such cases will deter people from coming forward despite being assured protection, he said.
“Unfortunately, MACC is quick to talk, but not to act. It is cases like these that deter people from coming forward, even though they are assured protection. Cases like this, or the lack of immediate action on it, add to the perception of ‘What’s the point of making a complaint? They’ll still get away with it’. Because nothing has been done, or nothing will be done.
“If MACC is really serious about being hard on corruption, then they should not lose focus on the smaller cases. It is usually the smaller cases that affect the everyday man and woman.”
He urged the agency to treat every case equally, and to stop using “under investigation” as an excuse to delay immediate action on cases filed with it. – The Vibes, January 18, 2021
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