MACC gets more bite in fight

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is treating the government’s RM286.8mil allocation as a responsibility it has to shoulder for Malaysians.

The anti-graft body said the allocation showed the government’s trust in MACC’s independence in tackling corruption and money laundering in the public and private sectors.

“We welcome and thank the government for its allocation.

“We will continue carrying out our responsibility in enforcing the law in accordance with the Federal Constitution and ensure that our country is corruption-free,” it said in a statement.

The RM286.8mil allocation is an 18.5% increase from Budget 2018. The government also allowed for MACC staffing to be increased by 100 personnel next year to ensure that it has all the necessary resources and manpower in its battle against corruption.

Transparency International Mal­aysia president Datuk Seri Akhbar Satar gave the thumbs up for the higher allocation as it would be a morale booster for MACC to go after high-profile cases, but said that allocation should not be from the Treasury.

“It makes MACC more effective but the question is, will MACC be held by the purse strings from the Treasury? If this were the case, it would affect MACC’s independence, which was guaranteed by the Pakatan Harapan government in its manifesto.

“The allocation to MACC should come from Parliament so that if the Treasury were involved in any abuse, MACC would not be made complicit,” said Akhbar.

In the Budget 2019 speech, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng also said a new Government Procurement Act would be tabled next year to govern procurement processes to ensure transparency and competition and to punish power abuse, negligence and corruption.