TRANSPARENCY International Malaysia (TI-M) urges the government, helmed by Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, to keep its focus on the reform agenda and the ultimate goal of the National Anti-Corruption Plan – fighting corruption to ensure economic prosperity for the nation.
In doing so, TI-M implores the government to demonstrate its will and commitment in this regard by taking appropriate and immediate action within its jurisdiction on the information revealed in the Pandora Papers.
The government must distance itself from – and take stern action against – all individuals and organisations involved in corruption, money laundering, capital flight, and possible misuse of public funds such as that revealed in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd mega scandal.
The administration needs to fight this battle on all fronts, including by investigating, transparently presenting findings, debating in Parliament, and implementing the necessary policies to plug the leak of billions of ringgit – which could have been spent on improving access to healthcare, providing financial aid, and decreasing youth unemployment especially during these current times of economic uncertainty.
It is unacceptable in this day and age – when the rest of the world has received information on prominent Malaysians’ involvement in the scandal – for local law enforcement authorities to drag their feet or claim investigations may only be commenced after specific police reports have been filed.
Furthermore, Malaysia has no lack of enforcement and regulatory agencies financed by taxpayer money that have jurisdiction to investigate, carry out surveillance, seize assets, and recover Malaysian assets and monies. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, National Revenue Recovery Enforcement Team, National Anti-Financial Crime Centre, Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation, Interpol, Inland Revenue Board and Bank Negara Malaysia are some of the examples.
Plugging these leaks requires adequate gatekeeping by the use of effective laws. TI-M has long believed that transparency kills corruption, and looking at the elaborate webs of public contracts, international transactions, capital flight, and money laundering, strict and transparent asset declarations are needed to exorcise these ills from public office.
TI-M – along with other civil societies – have long been advocating for an Act on asset declarations. We believe asset declarations should include assets, equity, involvement, and interests held locally and internationally.
Asset declarations should be mandatory and fully disclosed on a public register – not merely voluntary income declarations.
“None of these ideas are new, and many have been implemented in countries with higher Corruption Perceptions Index scores,” said TI-M president Muhammad Mohan.
The government should not allow certain quarters to sweep all these multibillion-dollar scandals under the parliamentary and judiciary rug any further for their personal gain. The rakyat are watching – including the voters of upcoming elections. – The Vibes, October 28, 2021
Transparency International Malaysia is an independent, non-governmental and non-partisan organisation committed to the fight against corruption.
