KUALA LUMPUR: New students who enrolled at public higher learning institutions from October this year onwards are required to undergo an integrity and anti-corruption course, says a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) official.
He said the subject would likely be made compulsory for students from private higher learning institutions as well starting from January.
MACC Community Education Division assistant commissioner Mohd Nur Lokman Samingan, who announced this, said the course structure would focus on experience-based learning to enable students to better understand corruption and its impact on them and the country.
“This will be a compulsory subject to take before the students graduate. This only involves new students who started after October this year. It won’t be made compulsory for undergraduates who are into their second or third year after October,” he said when met after the opening of the International Anti-Corruption Day 2023 at the Asia Pacific University (APU) here yesterday.
Mohd Nur Lokman said this move comes after the MACC’s Anti-Corruption Students Force in 2016 suggested that anti-corruption values be taught to students.
The Anti-Corruption Students Force is an MACC programme for promoting character building and integrity among tertiary students.
Following several pilot projects since 2018, the Higher Education Ministry agreed to make the course a compulsory subject for students in all 20 public universities beginning in 2023.
Mohd Nur Lokman said the MACC is implementing programmes to engage with private tertiary students to provide them with a clear understanding of the MACC’s activities, the government’s initiatives to combat corruption as well as the National Anti-Corruption Plan.
“This way, they can have accurate information instead of relying on unfounded rumours from social media platforms,” he said.
Through forums and engagement, he said negative perceptions and misunderstandings about the MACC and the government are being addressed.
“For example, when the subject was first taught at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, it was well received. The experience-based learning was what made the subject interesting and eye-opening to the students. They gained insights into how the MACC conducts investigations, surveillance and other related actions.
“And by organising visits to the MACC headquarters, students realised that the MACC is not what people perceive it to be,” he added.Mohd Nur Lokman said the MACC is also working with 12 ministries responsible for overseeing Technical and Vocational Educational and Training (TVET) institutions nationwide to implement the anti-corruption subject.
“The aim is to establish a policy that mandates all TVET students to take up this subject,” he said.
MACC deputy chief commissioner (prevention) Datuk Seri Norazlan Mohd Razali, who launched the programme, also called for the anti-corruption subject to be taught in private colleges and universities.
“For this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day, we aim to forge greater communication and collaboration with faculty members and students from private colleges and universities to keep them updated on the MACC and its initiatives as well as anti-corruption initiatives by the government,” he said.
Norazlan called on the younger generation to be mindful of their attitudes and decisions when dealing with temptation.
“Do not use your Fomo (Fear Of Missing Out) and Yolo (You Only Live Once) in a negative way to experience the adrenaline of committing corruption.
“Yolo might turn into ‘You’re Only Jailed Once.’ There will not be a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card. Life is not a Monopoly game.
“As our future leaders, we want you to clearly understand that efforts to combat corruption cannot rely on enforcement actions by the MACC alone,” he added.
Also present at the programme launch were APU chief executive officer Datuk Parmjit Singh, Malaysian Association of Private Colleges and Universities executive director Devan G. Nagappan and MACC consultation and corruption prevention panel member Datin Yasmin Ahmad Merican.
