Tun M: "If Anyone Wants To Give Me A Present, I'm Scared Of This Man So I Won't Accept"
:D
By Sadho Ram — 08 Jun 2018, 02:14 PM
Today, 8 June, the new Pakatan Harapan Government announced that the "no-gift" policy, that currently only covers civil servants, will now be extended to include ministers and their support staff
The head of the newly set up Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre (GIACC), Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed revealed that the said policy will be extended to members of the public administration and their political officers.
"This involves Cabinet members, deputy ministers and all the way down to their various political secretaries," said Abu Kassim, who was accompanied by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Following the announcement, Tun Dr Mahathir said that he can no longer receive any gifts as he is scared of Abu Kassim. His quip drew laughter, with his Ministers trying to hide their laughter.
"If anyone wants to give me a present, I'm scared of this man so I won't accept," Tun PM Mahathir joked after Abu Kassim's announcement, according to Sumisha Naidu on Twitter.
Tun Dr Mahathir added that the only gifts he may accept from well-wishers are food, flowers and fruits, "cannot receive anything else"
"We will reject everything else... cars (and such) we will reject them all. The same goes for all top government officers.
"They cannot accept any gifts. This because those who had presented gifts are also as guilty as those who received them," he added.
Meanwhile, with the setting up of the GIACC, several existing agencies such as the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (IIM), Public Complaints Bureau (BPA), and the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) will be placed under its purview
The GIACC is headed by former MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed.