KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians should stop glorifying leaders who are facing court cases for graft Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Deputy Chief Commissioner (prevention) Datuk Seri Shamshun Baharin Mohd Jami (pix) says.
“Personally I find it rather odd that those found guilty of graft are still exalted by Malaysians,“ he said during the launch of the collaboration between Allianz Malaysia Berhad and The Rasuah Busters movement today.
Shamshun Baharin also pointed out some netizens like to make allegations about corruption on social media.
But when MACC tries to take their statements to investigate the matter, they have nothing to say.
“Don’t blame MACC for not doing our job. Our role is only as an enforcement agency. We have to understand our criminal justice system. As corruption is getting rampant in our country, we welcome the non profit organisations and private corporates to combat corruption,“ he said.
He stressed that the best way to stop corruption is to strengthen elements of integrity and anti-corruption practices in an organisation.
“Integrity and anti-corruption elements are crucial given current developments where a majority of organisations in the country regardless of them being government agencies , private companies or financial institutions, are facing various challenges including corruption, malpractice and abuse of power,“ he said.
According to MACC, a total of 3,981 investigation papers on corruption were opened between 2017 and March 31, 2021 with 4,194 arrests made, 1,601 charged while 856 suspects were convicted.
He said the main form of graft was accepting bribes (45.6%), 23.3% made false claims, and 18.9% for giving bribes.
Meanwhile, Karangkraf Media Group chairman Datuk Hussamuddin Yaacub, who is leading the Rasuah Busters movement, praised Allianz Malaysia for being the first insurer to declare an open war against all forms of graft.
“If more corporate companies are able to do this, we can quickly eradicate corruption in our ecosystem,“ he said.
Corruption exists in every industry and chief executive officer of Allianz Malaysia Berhad, Zakri Khir, said the insurance industry is not spared either.
He said that the time is now for corporates and individuals to be empowered to demand greater accountability from those in positions of power.
Recently, Malaysia was ranked 57th on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2020 with a score of 51, behind Asean neighbours including Singapore in 3rd place with a score of 85, followed by Brunei Darussalam ranked 35th with a score of 60.
Rasuah Busters has steadily gained momentum since its launch on Jan 29, 2021 and recently launched its ‘Coalition of the Willing’’ made up of 25 prominent figures.
