THE Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) has called for stronger oversight frameworks in Malaysia’s public sector,
C4 head of research and policy advocacy Arief Hamizan said existing avenues for citizens to demand accountability from government agencies remained limited and required urgent improvement.
He was commenting on the proposed special task force involving the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) to address revenue leakages at ports.
"It was a positive step, but its role, powers and implementation mechanisms must be clearly defined... clear guidelines are needed to ensure the task force operates effectively, avoids overlapping responsibilities and delivers meaningful outcomes in addressing weaknesses in enforcement and governance," he said in a statement.
Arief said the task force should form part of wider institutional reforms aimed at improving transparency, accountability and public confidence in government agencies.
He said the introduction of a Freedom of Information law and the establishment of a federal Ombudsman office could strengthen public oversight by providing more effective mechanisms for investigating complaints and addressing grievances involving government bodies.
However, he stressed that the success of such reforms would depend on whether their frameworks were aligned with international best practices, enabling the creation of more open, responsive and trusted public institutions.
The proposed MACC-JKDM collaboration follows concerns over revenue leakages at ports, including weaknesses involving container management, smuggling activities, document forgery and attempts to evade tax payments.
While the initiative has been viewed as a positive step towards improving enforcement, questions remain over the task force’s authority, operational scope and whether it will focus on monitoring, prevention or direct enforcement action.
MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Abd Halim Aman previously said discussions on establishing the task force took place during a courtesy visit by Customs director-general Datuk Amran Ahmad to MACC headquarters.
He said both agencies exchanged views on operational challenges, including Customs inspection procedures, bureaucratic constraints and internal issues affecting enforcement.
The discussions also covered mechanisms to curb leakages in container management under the Customs Department’s jurisdiction at ports nationwide.
Amran said the Customs Department had shared intelligence on syndicates’ methods of evading taxes, including smuggling operations and the falsification of information or documents to obtain approvals under certain categories. - August 6, 2026
