KUALA LUMPUR: All local authorities are required to establish an Integrity Unit (UI) by Aug 31 as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen administrative integrity, says the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
In a statement Thursday (May 1), the MACC said that as part of measures to streamline the reporting structure, all liaison officers serving in local authorities are now required to report directly to the UI at the state secretary's office (SUK), instead of the local authority president.
"This approach is aimed at enhancing reporting autonomy and governance transparency at the state level," read the statement posted on MACC's official Facebook page.
MACC added that the matter was among the decisions made during the National-Level Governance Committee Meeting held on Wednesday (April 30) at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC).
The meeting, chaired by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, also emphasised the need for compliance with the MACC Report.
The Chief Secretary's office will issue reminder letters to ministries and state governments that have yet to act on the recommendations made between 2017 and 2021.
In addition, the Public Service Department has been instructed to review several key sections of the Human Resource Management Services Circular (MyPPSM), including those related to accepting external sponsorships for smart partnership programmes, as part of policy improvements to enhance transparency and integrity.
The Finance Ministry has been requested to consider adopting the "Do's and Don'ts" Procurement Implementation Guidelines prepared by the National Governance Committee secretariat as an official reference, and to issue them as a circular to be distributed and applied across all agencies.
According to MACC, the Chief Secretary also reminded all secretaries-general to promptly report any known corruption cases in their respective ministries, as this serves as a key indicator under the Demerit Performance Evaluation System (DEEP), in line with Malaysia's aspiration to strengthen its anti-corruption culture. — Bernama
