Report: MACC’s efforts effective in seeing graft cases through

PETALING JAYA: Some 74% of corruption cases have been disposed of within a year of being registered in court, according to the National Transformation Pro­gramme (NTP) Annual Report 2016.

The report noted that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Com­mission (MACC) has undertaken seeing through all the cases efficiently.

“The establishment of 14 special corruption courts (one in each state and federal territory) has allowed the Malaysian judiciary to hear and adjudicate on the cases in a shorter frame,” it said in the report.

The report also pointed that 96.6% of the issues highlighted in the Auditor-General’s Report 2014 Series 1-3 have been dealt with and resolved within a year of being tabled in Parliament.

“This is a noteworthy achievement and underscores MACC’s effectiveness in investigating these cases, as well as the NKRA’s (National Key Results Areas) commitment to clean governance,” it said.

The report also noted the formation of the National Consultative Committee on Political Funding (NCCPF), which was formed by the Prime Minister in August 2015, as one of the main achievements.

On the Government’s effort to fight crime, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the Perception of Crime Indicator (PCI), which was introduced last year, recorded that fewer people in Kuala Lumpur fear becoming a victim of crime. From 80% in 2015 to 61% last year the figures are an indication that the public are feeling safer.

Dr Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Home Minister, said between 2010 and 2016, the country’s crime index also decreased at an average of 9% annually, recording a total of 47% in reduction.

“In 2016, the reduction registered a lower rate of 2.8%. This figure suggests that the number of residents filing crime reports has increased, but does not directly indicate that there is an increase in the number of crime incidents,” he said in the report.

The Government also found a new approach to the rehabilitation of drug offenders, by moving away from the arrest, incarceration, and “cold turkey” method to one that is health-based, involving community service and an end-to-end treatment programme.