Three proposals to enhance the battle against corruption in Malaysia

Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed and himself are serious in wanting to combat corruption and would always support the Anti-Corruption Agency’s (ACA) role in fighting this menace.

Speaking at the opening of the Forum Perdana Hal Ehwal Islam on the theme Between Corruption and Blessed Earnings organised jointly by the ACA, Pusat Islam and RTM, Anwar warned that corruption would lead to the eventual collapse of society and stressed that everyone had a responsibility to check corruption from becoming a culture and a seemingly acceptable practice.

Anwar’s strictures, just like Mahathir’s condemnation of the politics of money and corruption at the UMNO General Assembly last month, are highly commendable, but the time has come to move from high sentiments to concrete actions to deal with a disease which Anwar said yesterday “is spreading like a cancer deep within”.

For the last three decades, while corruption has become more rampant and has taken new forms, the country has failed to keep abreast with these developments by having new anti-corruption laws, powers and approaches.

If the government and society are serious and want to be effective in the war against corruption, recognising it as a cancer which could cause the collapse of the Malaysian society, the government should seriously consider the following three proposals to enhance the fight against corruption:

• Firstly, enact a new, comprehensive and all-powerful anti-corruption law to replace the present Prevention of Corruption Act 1961 to update definition of corruption, increase penalities for corruption and give enhanced powers to the anti-corruption agency. Five years ago, the ACA, under the then Director-General, Tan Zri Zulkifli Mahmood had drafted a draft for a new, comprehensive and all-powerful anti-corruption law to give the ACA real teeth to combat corruption, but this draft had got lost in the maze of bureaucracy. Anwar should call for this draft to be reconsidered, and even making it public for public discussion if the government is serious in wanting to involve the public in the fight against corruption.

• Secondly, establish a Parliamentary Committee on Corruption which will not only study annual reports which should be submitted to Parliament by the ACA in its fight against corruption, but should have powers to receive, investigate or refer complaints about corruption from any quarter to the ACA.

• Thirdly, enact a Whistleblowers’ Legislation which will give protection to government servants or members of the public who in the public interest report to the ACA or the Parliamentary Committee on Corruption corrupt practices or any form of malpractices whether in the public or private sector.

It will be most unfortunate if the government’s condemnation of corruption is only to be found in occasional speeches by the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, which are not backed up with enhanced powers to combat corruption at all levels.

I hope the Cabinet will give the above three proposals to enhance the fight against corruption serious consideration and introduce measures to implement them.

(8/11/96)