Be patient, says MACC advisory panel member

By: by Meena L. Ramadas. (Thu, 24 Sep 2009)

Tan Sri Robert Phang	Datuk Paul Low

PETALING JAYA (Sept 24, 2009) : The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Corruption Consultative and Advisory Panel has urged the people to be patient and not to be misled by the Global Corruption Report (GCR) 2009.

Panel member Tan Sri Robert Phang said the MACC has improved in its transparency, especially after the death of political secretary Teoh Beng Hock.

“There has been no selective investigation in MACC. For instance, the commission has investigated Selangor opposition leader Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, and also the Port Klang Free Zone scandal,” he told theSun today.

“Whether the commission is independent or not, it is often influenced by perceptions. At the end of the day, we still have to answer to our conscience as to whether or not we have done a good job.”

Phang said “even the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in Hongkong, and the Corruption Eradication Commission in Indonesia had taken few years to see fundamental results when the MACC was only formed less than a year ago”.

Urging the public to be patient, he said they should not be totally misled by Transparency International’s GCR 2009.

Phang also said Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) should prepare its Corruption Perception Index (CPI) report based on “accurate data”.

He said TI-M president Datuk Paul Low should get the facts right when preparing the report, and MACC was open for discussion in its aim to be a better anti-corruption organisation.

Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim

Low had said on Wednesday after presenting the GCR 2009 that the Global Corruption Barometer 2009 survey released in May indicated that 70% of Malaysians believe the government is ineffective in combating corruption.

In contrast, despite Indonesia having a far worse position in the CPI than Malaysia, 76% of Indonesians believe their government is effective in fighting corruption.

Meanwhile, DAP veteran and MP for Ipoh Timur Lim Kit  Siang said Indonesia has made “magnificent strides” in its anti-corruption efforts.

In a statement, he said Indonesia recorded a CPI of 1.94 out of 10 in 1995 but it has increased to 2.6 in 2008 while Malaysia’s CPI has dropped from 5.28 in 1995 to 5.1 in 2008.

Lim said public perception is likely to be worse off than the Global Corruption Barometer 2009 survey after the death of Teoh on July 16.

He also said the MACC’s focus on Pakatan Rakyat members and not the Barisan Nasional members contributes to the erosion of public confidence.

“MACC is going all-out to harass Pakatan Rakyat over alleged constituency allocation  improprieties involving RM2,400 while being totally blind to corruption and abuses of power against Barisan Nasional leaders running into tens or  hundreds of millions or even billions of ringgit,” he said.

“It will an enormous shame and great infamy for Malaysia if, in the TI CPI 2009 report, Malaysia slides further in both the indicators of CPI ranking and score,” Lim said.

Civil society groups agree that the anti-corruption measures implemented by the government seem to be unproductive.

Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commisioner Datuk Dr Chiam Heng Keng said: “Judging from what is being reported, it seems like more graft cases are being exposed.”

Chiam said the responsibility of fighting corruption does not only lie with the government but also with the public.

Lim Kit  Siang	Datuk Dr Chiam Heng Keng

“I think people feel that if the authorities can get away scot-free, then what is the point of fighting against it?” she said.

World Bank High Level Advisory Group on Anti-Corruption in the East Asia and Pacific Region member and former TI-M president Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim said: “If people see that corrupt practices have benefits, then they are definitely going to join the herd.

“The government must make sure that policies and procedures in place make it extremely difficult for people in position of authority and the layman to be involved in corrupt practices.

“This means enforcement will have to be increased and the right people are placed in charge of agencies to fight corruption.”

National Institute for Electoral Integrity (NIEI) executive director Amin Iskandar said governmental efforts deal with corruption on the surface level.

Moreover, he said, independent anti-corruption bodies established to address the problem act selectively.

“For example, there have been a lot of reports against a VIP for alleged corruption but so far, the MACC has not investigated this VIP,” he added.

Tags: MACC, The Sun