MACC Wants More Power From The Govt. Good Idea?
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) mooted a proposal for all members of the government administration and their immediate families to be barred from bidding for government contracts. They also propose for civil servants to declare their assets to MACC, and that retired civil servant wait one year before entering a professional practice. Will this really help MACC fight cronyism?
By Mei Mei Chu — 22 May 2013, 01:27 PM — Updated almost 11 years ago
MACC chief says give us more power in asset declaration
[Editor's note: Malaysiakini and other 'alternative' media organisations were not invited for this event. It is learned that they will be invited for a separate event in two weeks.]
malaysiakini.com
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) wants the government to give it additional powers to compel anyone to declare their assets without the need to prove an element of corruption.
abnxcess.com
Currently the commission does not have any legal provision to compel a person to declare his or her assets without any investigation on a corruption allegation against the person, he said.
thestar.com.my
“The initiative, if implemented, would impact positively on the government and would enhance the people’s confidence in the MACC,” he said.
Abu Kassim said without such overall support and more effective legal provisions, the fight against corruption would not have the far-reaching impact expected by the people.
malaysiakini.com
"We must be in it together, regardless of political ideology, because corruption is a crime. If the law is insufficient we must make amendments, we must support," he said.
thestar.com.my
MACC to barr administration and family from government contracts
All members of the administration and their immediate families should be barred from bidding for government contracts, says the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
thestar.com.my
Federal and state government top brass should be prevented from influencing applications for government contracts from their family members, said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel (CCPP).
bernama.com.my
Johan said the suggestion was aimed at preventing conflicts of interest and to plug loopholes and opportunities that could lead to corruption.
It was also to allay public perception that those close to the corridors of power could influence the government decision-making process.
thestar.com.my
He added the panel was of the view that to allay public perception on cronyism in the government, all Cabinet ministers, deputy ministers, mentris besar, chief ministers, state executive councillors and their immediate family members should be barred from bidding for government projects.
“The panel proposes that this be implemented with immediate effect at the federal, state, local government levels and government agencies,” he suggested.
Parliament and state assemblymen to declare their assets once in three years
Secondly, the panel proposed that members of Parliament and state assemblymen to make a mandatory declaration of their assets to the MACC at least once in three years.
mysinchew.com
"Such a move shows transparency on the part of the government over assets of ministers and their immediate family members. It would also protect the interest of other parties in the event of allegations related to their respective positions and ‘wealth’” Johan said.
This will help reinforce their commitment in the fight against corruption and clear doubts about their assets during their term as elected representatives, he said.
malaysiandigest.comTop civil servants to wait one year after retirement before entering corporate sector
Johan said thirdly, the CCPP proposed that a one-year cooling-off period to be imposed on top civil servants after their retirement before entering a professional practice or holding a top post in the corporate sector to prevent them from lobbying for top jobs in the final year in office.
mysinchew.com“At present, there is no specific cooling off period in allowing civil servants who have retired from holding appointments in the corporate sector or professional practice,” CCPP chairman Datuk Johan Jaaffar said in a statement here.
“The risks of corruption could arise when retiring officers could make use of their public positions to lobby for posts and certain personal benefits when they retire,” he added.
DAP says make the declarations public not a "secret declaration" to MACC only
DAP says make the declarations public not a "secret declaration" to MACC only
Image via myinstantcdn.comQuestioning the integrity of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), DAP suggested today all elected representatives should declare their assets to the public instead.
fz.com
The DAP’s elected representatives are prepared to declare their assets in public and disagreed with a “secret declaration” to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) alone, federal lawmaker Tony Pua said today.
The DAP publicity secretary accused the anti-graft body of lacking credibility and predicted that a secret declaration to it would only result in a witch hunt against all Pakatan Rakyat (PR) MPs and state assemblymen.
"Given MACC’s complete lack of credibility and its penchant to act as the cat’s paw of the ruling BN government, we cannot agree to the terms to rely on MACC as the sole arbiter of whether an elected representative is living beyond his means," Tony Pua said.
fz.com
"Anything less than a commitment to a blanket public declaration of assets by the Prime Minister as well as the MACC will prove that they lack the sincerity to tackle corruption, particularly by those in power in this country," he added.
fz.com
Tony Pua cited several past cases involving PR leaders in which he said the MACC had behaved unprofessionally and where their “witch hunt” had even led to the death of DAP aide Teoh Beng Hock and, in another incident, a public apology to Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.
Scandals that will forever haunt Malaysia
2011, National Feedlot Corporation Scandal (NFC) - National Feedlot Corporation is a private company owned with participation from the Government of Malaysia. Its commercial interest is the development of a planned, integrated and sustainable Malaysian beef industry. Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and her family members, who are running the operations of the corporation are embroiled in the scandal for allegations of purchasing condominiums using funds given to the corporation by the Malaysian government.
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Taib Mahmud, Sarawak Chief Minister, scandal - On March 18 2013, London based NGO Global Watch (GW) produced a video that captures the conversation between GW’s undercover investigator and Taib’s first cousins, which stunningly revealed the truth of how Taib and his family make illicit fortunes from illegal disposal of Sarawak’s vast timber land. As the corrupt ruler of Sarawak for 32 years, Taib Mahmud is of course no stranger to scandals. But Taib has stood unscratched, despite numerous reports lodged against him over the years.
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2009, Teoh Beng Hock scandal - Teoh Beng Hock was a Malaysian journalist and political aide to Ean Yong Hian Wah. On 15 July 2009, the MACC took Teoh into custody for questioning about allegations of corruption. Teoh was found dead the next morning on the rooftop of a building adjacent to the MACC offices.
Image via themalaysianinsider.com
2008 - Recognized as the biggest financial scandal in Malaysia, the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal saw high profile political personalities, including a former Transport Minister, implicated of abuse, criminal breach of trust and wrong-doings in the scandal. According to Wikipedia, Controversy began when the Malaysian Parliament's Public Accounts Committee met with the Port Klang Authority (PKA), because of dissatisfaction with huge cost overruns amounting to RM 3.5 billion (USD 1.0748 billion) associated with the Port Klang Free Zone. The original cost of setting up the integrated free zone was supposed be RM1.845 billion but increased to RM4.6 billion when the project was completed four years later.
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