DPM warns there will be no protection for the corrupt

- Bernama

PUTRAJAYA: Staff of the Home Ministry and its agencies can forget about appealing if they are caught for corruption and power abuse, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic).

Dr Zahid, who is Home Minister, said he will not entertain such requests nor will he protect them from the law.

While he would ensure that their welfare will be taken care of, he will not tolerate officers and staff who tarnish the ministry’s image and integrity.

“If you commit power abuse and get involved in corruption, you will have to face the consequences.

“I will not condone such activities. I will not protect you or hear any appeal that no action be taken against corrupt personnel,” he said at the ministry’s monthly gathering yesterday.

He said enforcement agencies must be “colour blind” when they take action against wrongdoers, adding that they must arrest anyone, whether “big or small” or even those among them.

The Deputy Prime Minister also commended departments and agencies for their achievements.

Among notable ones were the police’s success in curbing crime. Between January and April, only 86 crime incidents were recorded for every 100,000 people.

The initial target was to ensure there would not be more than 352 as per the ratio.

The Prisons Department has successfully carried out transfers of prisoners between Malaysia and India, and helped two inmates secure their degrees from Open University.

The Immigration Department has been commended after the Malaysian passport was acknowledged as the fifth most powerful in the world.

“This shows that we have dedicated civil servants and those who tarnish our image are just small in number,” he added.

At a press conference, Dr Ahmad Zahid said the three-month rotation system for staff manning the border areas was meant to prevent them from getting “too familiar” with criminals and smugglers.

“All personnel will serve no more than the stipulated time. With manpower up from 992 to 10,000 people, it will be difficult to ‘make friends’ with so many officers.

“This will leave little opportunity for corrupt activities.”

He also welcomed Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) action against enforcement officers who commit wrongdoing.

The Star had reported on yesterday that the MACC had information about enforcement officers at the Kedah border with Thailand enjoying a lavish lifestyle due to corruption.

On another matter, Dr Ahmad Zahid said detained Turkish national Turgay Karaman has to be deported to his home country as Malaysia needed to adhere to deportation laws which cannot allow the person to be sent to a third country.

Turgay and two other Turkish nationals, Ihsan Aslan and Ismet Ozcelik, were detained for activities that allegedly threatened the security of Malaysia.