PETALING JAYA: The government has been urged to strengthen its current anti-corruption laws to address the nation’s challenges in facing corruption.
In a statement, Malaysian Bar president A.G. Kalidas said that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should be placed beyond the influence of the executive, both administratively and financially.
“The Malaysian Bar echoes the words of Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General, in saying that corruption is an insidious plague that has a wide range of corrosive effects on societies.
“It undermines democracy and the rule of law, distorts markets, erodes the quality of life, and allows organised crime, terrorism, and other threats to human security to flourish,“ he said.
The Bar also reiterates its call for implementing a constitutionally mandated Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (IACC) and ensuring the independence and security of tenure of the commissioners serving the IACC.
Kalidas also pointed out that in the recent Government Defence Integrity Index for 2020 released by Transparency International Malaysia, Malaysia scored a mere 45 per cent and received a D rating.
“This indicates a weak institutional resilience to graft overall. Malaysia also dropped six places on the Corruption Perception Index last year,” he said.
The Bar renewed its call for a new paradigm of open, transparent, and accountable governance, and to eradicate corruption and affirm the rule of law.
