Government should stop giving gift at events, TI-M says.

PETALING JAYA: Federal and state governments should follow the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah's instruction for government departments and agencies in Perak not to present him with any gifts in any event he attended.
In making the call today, Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) president Datuk Akhbar Satar said in a statement the directive was a "positive development" in order to preserve the integrity of the expectations of the people and would also be an important step to save the cost of organising events.
He felt that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak should instruct all governmental agencies, both at the federal and state levels, as well as GLCs to cease presenting the customary mementos in all government and private sector functions where ministers or state Excos were officiating such events.
On Sept 8, Sultan Nazrin, at the Perak state council meeting, had instructed that no gifts be presented to him and and his wife, Tuanku Zara Salim, at all events organised by the Perak state government.
Akhbar said TI-M made a similar recommendation in 2012, for all parties to adopt a No Gifts Policy.
"TI-M is confident the people and leaders at large will welcome this development and we should consider this as a national practice in the near future," he said.
This would lead to strengthening the culture of integrity, conducting business in an open and transparent manner and help to address corruption in the long run.
He said to tackle corruption in a comprehensive manner, the support of various parties was needed to implement internal control mechanisms including leadership by example or hiring integrity employers.