A Selangor state assemblyman poured scorn on calls by the Malaysian Anti-Commission Commission (MACC) who had urged the public to come forward and report corrupt practices.
“Many have filed numerous reports, ranging from small bribery to graft involving multi-million ringgit.
“The issue here is, when is MACC planning to act on the complaints made?” asked Rajiv Rishyakaran, in a statement.
On Jan 15, MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki urged civil servants to report corrupt practices in their respective departments or agencies.
He said issues such as lack of integrity and abuse of power should not be taken lightly but given serious attention in efforts to improve the work culture in the public sector.
“The MACC calls on civil servants to ‘open their eyes and ears’ and channel information to the MACC because they know more about what is happening in their respective departments or agencies.
“If they are not confident about becoming a complainant, they can choose to become a whistleblower, and get protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 if they are subjected to improper treatment by the department head or senior officer following the disclosure made to the MACC,” he told Bernama.
Training his guns against Azam, Rajiv cited a case back in August 2019, where a report was filed against a Government official who was alleged to have been involved in a dubious dealing.
“This particular case involves a payment made to a contractor for work that was not physically done on site.
“A site visit by the MACC would have easily confirmed the matter. This particular officer had also split projects into smaller contracts to avoid tendering, as well as awarded contracts to a company that is financially related to him,” he said.
However, Rajiv said that nothing much have transpired since then despite his office following up on the matter with MACC every few months using letters, emails and phone calls.
“I can’t imagine that it takes more than a year to investigate these allegations, and either charge this officer in court or dismiss the complaint.
“Back then, the Selangor MACC director Datuk Alias Salim was quick to deny any delay in its investigations and said the probe was ongoing.
“I have since continued to follow up and have been repeatedly told that the matter is still ‘under investigation’. This is still the response until today, one and a half years later,” said the Bukit Gasing state assemblyman.
He added that the Government official still holds his office, with the complainant rarely contacted by the MACC for follow-ups.
“So, is the MACC planning to keep the investigation going until the officer retires, with no trail left behind? Why is a simple, straightforward corruption case taking one and a half years to ‘investigate’?
“Unfortunately, MACC is quick to talk but not to act,” Rajiv remarked. – Jan 18, 2021.
