Column - ‘Man of few words’ means business

"I'M a man of few words. I would like to warn those involved to stop immediately. This is not an empty threat."
This was the warning that rang out loud and clear from Datuk Dzulkilfi Ahmad shortly after he was appointed chief commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in August last year.
The warning which he issued in an interview with Bernama came with an "offer" to corrupt individuals – "surrender or wait for the MACC to come after you". He wants those involved in corrupt practices and abuse of power to step forward or be prepared to face the full brunt of the MACC's enforcement.
His primary focus is to enhance integrity in the public and private sectors.
And for the MACC to mean business, the warning will translate into raids of government and private offices if there is evidence of corrupt practice.
"We will study and discuss with the Attorney-General's Chambers on what action could be taken (for a lighter sentence) as the question of prosecution is under their purview," he said.
Before the warning could even sink in among those on the MACC radar screen, Dzulkifli walked the talk. In fact, Dzulkifli best epitomises the phrase "walk the talk" per se.
Hardly two days after the warning to crack down on corrupt civil servants, the MACC picked up high-ranking officials in a swoop in Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Kelantan and seized RM13 million in cash and other assets.
Then came the truly sensational freezing of some RM200 million in the bank accounts of two top officials of the Sabah Water Department last October in what the media aptly described as the "Watergate" scandal after the US political scandal that forced the resignation of President Richard Nixon almost 45 years ago.
MACC officers who raided the house of one of the civil servants stumbled upon what could well be the biggest stash of ill-gotten cash ever discovered in history – well over RM50 million – that took officers more than 15 hours to count.
One of them was reported as saying that there was cash stacked in virtually every inch of the room, in cupboards, boxes and racks.
Jewellery and handbags worth millions were also found in the house and the Sabah Water Department director, who has since been replaced, and his wife are still in custody after failing to raise hefty bail amounts demanded by the prosecution team.
The MACC has been relentless in the crackdown with Dzulkifli coming out with another warning that from now on, there would be an average of one high-profile arrest each week.
Earlier last month, the secretary-general of a ministry was nabbed for alleged corrupt practice and abuse of power and had to be held in custody for about 10 days, along with two of his sons.
This particular case involving the topmost civil servant in a ministry sent shock waves across the civil service whose image has taken a beating.
I have been talking to some senior civil servants and the mood generally in the civil service is somewhat subdued in the face of this spate of arrests of people so senior and the question that comes to mind is "who's next?"
I could sense this mood earlier last month when I was invited to give a talk on media matters to top civil servants comprising secretaries-general and directors-general at their retreat in Pahang, just a few days after the arrest of the secretary-general.
Last week, the MACC detained four high-ranking officials of the Felda Land Development Authority (Felda), the government entity that controls one of the world's largest oil palm plantations.
To top it up, Dzulkifli, in a live interview with Awani TV, dropped another bombshell – "Tunggulah" (Just wait), he warned politicians as well, as the MACC is casting its net further afield in its war against corruption.
Many would have thought that it would take some time for this to happen. It did not.
On Tuesday, the MACC announced that it was investigating an allegation involving Mara chairman and former Cabinet minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa, who is also Umno information chief.
It is alleged that funds from Mara, a key government agency set up to uplift the economic status of Malays, were used to sponsor the Kelantan football team or better known as the Red Warriors.
Annuar is president of the Kelantan Football Association.
Mara, which comes under the Ministry of Rural And Regional Development, has suspended Annuar as chairman.
Amid the high-profile arrests, MACC itself faces some tough challenges internally in ensuring that those individuals brought to the courtroom are convicted.
There's nothing more frustrating to the MACC in general and its prosecutors in particular if those charged are acquitted due to weaknesses or gaps in the prosecution. Or worse still, acquitted on a technicality.
Dzulkifli, a lawyer of some standing, knows this more than anyone else. He was a top-notch officer of the Attorney-General's Chambers before being appointed the MACC chief commissioner.
At the AG's Chambers, he held posts like prosecution division forfeiture unit chief, Criminal Cases Management director and National Revenue Recovery Enforcement Team head.
He knows his stuff and we all wish him well as the unassuming "man of few words" gets cracking and lets his actions speak louder than words.
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