KUALA LUMPUR – The practice of bribery among officials is a problem plaguing the nation to the point where our national integrity is in a crisis.
And according to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), it is doing its best to manage the damage.
This was asserted by MACC community education sector deputy director Mohamad Tarmize Abdul Manaf in a webinar hosted earlier yesterday by Universiti Teknologi Mara’s Communication and Media Studies Faculty.
Urging the public to come forward with any information they might have on officials partaking in bribery, Tarmize said that MACC is willing to offer protection for whistle-blowers, even if the person who files the complaint is involved in the transaction.
“If you have received a bribe or have given one out, confess your mistake and we (MACC) will protect you.
“Do not be afraid to turn to MACC because once you come to us, you are under our protection and we will arrest the other party,” he said, adding that government workers who make complaints on matters related to bribery will receive a “reward” from the government.
Without disclosing exactly what the “reward” is, Tarmize revealed that as of now, more than 400 people have been given one by the government after delivering information on bribes to MACC.
He also listed out practises which are considered akin to bribery in accordance with the MACC Act 2009, noting that besides offering and receiving bribes, false claims with inaccurate information in official documents and abuse of power are also some forms of the offence.
Besides Tarmize, the talk also featured Malaysian Institute of Integrity product research and development senior section officer Mohd Rais Ramli who pointed out that the state of the nation is definitely under threat when we face an integrity crisis.
It is our national aspiration to be a country that is known for our integrity, but here we are today having a session on how our nation is facing an integrity crisis.
“While integrity in politics is definitely important, we must also consider how every other sector in our lives, such as the management of public funds and the election of government officials, must also be addressed.
“If we as a people have integrity, then we would simply not accept bribes,” he said. He also expresses his hopes for the National Anti-Corruption plan to act as a guide for the government to resolve related matters.
Both speakers touched on the results of the Corruptions Perception Index released on January 25 which saw Malaysia drop five spots to a ranking of 62 out of 180 countries.
Among the Asean countries, Malaysia is ranked third, behind Singapore and Brunei, but ahead of Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines.
Tarmize suggested that the media’s sensationalist reporting of ongoing political cases in Malaysia might have contributed to the drop in ranking as the coverage can be tied with the perception put out by the country.
“However, the index looks at other factors, such as political stability and freedom of speech, alongside the practice of bribery. Hence, it is not fair to either blame or praise MACC when the ranking goes down or up,” he said.
MACC has recently been facing heat over its embattled chief Tan Sri Azam Baki who is accused of a conflict of interest after it was revealed that he had supposedly purchased millions of ringgits of public shares.
On January 22, the Arrest Azam Baki Action Committee had organised a #TangkapAzamBaki rally calling for the arrest of the chief following a confirmation by the Security Commission that he had been the one to operate the trading accounts he had personally opened.
Prior to that, on January 12, Azam had decided to sue journalist Lalitha Kunaratnam for RM10 million in damages after he claimed that two articles she had written contained defamatory sentiments against him. – The Vibes, January 30, 2022
