PETALING JAYA: An Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) investigation into conflict of interest allegations involving Environment Department officers has uncovered disciplinary breaches by personnel based in Negri Sembilan and Putrajaya.
The EAIC said it looked into allegations that Environment Department officers had close ties to company owners being probed, misuse of power by said officers as well as interference that disrupted the investigation.
It added that their findings showed non-compliance by officers leading to conflicts of interests, abuse of power, disclosure of confidential information and failure to declare assets.
"The disciplinary offences identified include having close relationships with interested parties resulting in conflicts of interest, using external influence that led to breaches of the department's code of ethics and disobeying orders," it said in a statement on Thursday (Dec 18).
The EAIC said its findings would be referred to the Chief Secretary to the Government and the Disciplinary Authority of the Public Service Department (PSD) as it involves top-ranking officials.
"We also recommended transferring out the Environment Department officers involved from its Putrajaya headquarters and Negri Sembilan, pending a decision by the PSD's Disciplinary Authority," it said.
The EAIC added that its findings had been referred to the Environment Department's disciplinary board and recommended disciplinary action to be taken.
It also said that it had referred the matter to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
However, the EAIC said it found no instances of the Environment Department failing to take action on the issue of illegal waste dumping in Bukit Pelandok
"The complaint was unfounded as the Environment Department investigation team successfully completed the probe which led to the prosecution of the company director involved in the illegal disposal of scheduled waste in Bukit Pelandok," it said.
