MMEA with highest integrity level, rejects and reports corruption: MACC

PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) is among the best enforcement bodies in terms of reporting and fighting corruption among its members.
According to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy chief commissioner (Management and Professionalism) Datuk Seri Jamidan Abdullah, the agency had been acknowledged as free from negative elements although its members and officers were subject to attempts by certain parties to bribe them.
He said this was based on the fact that the MMEA had the most number of individuals who received recognition from the MACC for rejecting and reporting on corruption, leading to cases being investigated.
“As an agency which enforces maritime regulations, the members and officers of the MMEA must surely be the targets of certain parties like fishermen and smugglers who try to offer bribes to serve their own interest.
“In fact, some had been offered several times but kept rejecting them before making a report with the MACC and they worked with us to combat this menace,” he told a press conference after attending the Corruption-Free Pledge-taking ceremony, here, today.
At the event, the MMEA was represented by its director-general, Maritime Admiral Datuk Zulkifili Abu Bakar.
Jamidan said to date, the offers made to MMEA officers and staff on duty along the coastlines were more in the form of cash, and not in other forms such as holiday packages or expensive gifts.
“We do not deny that there are officers and members of other enforcement bodies like the police, Immigration and Customs who also report corruption cases but in this aspect, the MMEA is seen as the agency with the highest level of integrity in reporting and rejecting any corrupt offers,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zulkifli said the MMEA was proud of its officers and staff for their integrity, sense of responsibility and trustworthiness, and hoped that the integrity pledge would further improve the image of the agency in the eyes of the public and the world.
He said before the integrity pledge, every action taken by the MMEA staff, especially those out on field work, was being monitored by the top management to ensure that they were free from negative elements, especially corruption and abuse of power. — Bernama