The Malaysian Insider

NOV 4 — Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission took a major enforcement action recently and those charged include an Umno member of Parliament, a former special assistant to Selangor Mentri Besar, a state executive councillor's special assistant and a former assemblyman. More non-partisan actions are expected from the commission in order to reverse its negative image.

Battling corruption is one of the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) areas announced by the Prime Minister. Therefore, MACC is expected to fight corruption according to the indicator. When Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was tabling the 2010 Budget, he also disclosed that the government would formulate the “Whistle-blower Act”, showing the government's determination in fighting corruption.

How long can the anti-corruption action last this time? Is it an on-going action or just for a limited of time? If the commission is doing so just to report on its mission and deal with the pressure of public opinion, then corrupt practices will sure revive.

This time, MACC focuses on alleged graft in Selangor. In order to show impartiality, politicians from both the ruling and opposition parties were charged. But would the authority take actions to plug the loopholes in the electoral funding distribution procedure in order to prevent more frauds?

According to the existing procedure, once the state legislative assembly passes a budget, the Chief Minister will allocate funds to the districts and district leaders will distribute funds to local state assemblypersons. However, district leaders have no right to question or investigate the whereabouts of funds. That is why, we can find fund allocation for non-existent programmes, claim exaggeration, bogus claims and other frauds. The public hearing held by Select Committee on Competence, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat) has revealed a number of unusual events occurred before the general elections last year.

Pakatan Rakyat has always stressed on anti-corruption and therefore, the Selangor government should develop a better monitoring and dissemination mechanism to ensure that no one can fill their own pockets. Pakatan Rakyat should set a good example in order to convince the people that they are more honest and upright than BN.

MACC should as well prove with actions that it really has the ability to transcend political stands and eradicate corruption, instead of making selective investigations. The commission must be able to:

1. Show its professional capacity: MACC should not catch only small fry but it should go for big fishes, too. Many important cases are still pending, just like the case against Datuk V.K. Lingam in connection with the alleged brokering of judges and the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

2. Improve law enforcement and prosecution capabilities: Many corrupt practices have surfaced and MACC must take immediate actions, including power abuse cases noted in the Auditor-General's Report. Without improvement in prosecution capability, many important cases may end up in lawsuit loss and tarnish the people's confidence.

3. Improve case handling procedures: DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock's case shows the commission's weaknesses in questioning procedures, including lack of respect for human rights. Thus, the procedures must be improved to highlight the commission's professionalism.

Battling corruption is a sacred task of defending the country's interests. It must not involve any political consideration and intrigue. And now, there is an opportunity for MACC to prove that it is not a toothless tiger. Everyone is eagerly awaiting. — mysinchew.com