GENTING HIGHLANDS: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is shifting its focus to agents and middlemen believed to be the "main enablers" of corruption, as graft activities continue despite past arrests of enforcement personnel.
MACC deputy chief commissioner (Operations) Datuk Seri Ahmad Khusairi Yahaya said that while the commission concentrated on taking action against enforcement officers in recent years, corrupt practices were recurring.
"As such, our focus this year will be on agents, middlemen and those involved with enforcement agencies," he told reporters when met at the closing ceremony of a journalism workshop organised by the MACC here on Friday (Feb 13).
He said that repeated arrests involving officers from government agencies had not fully addressed the root cause of the problem.
"We cannot keep arresting enforcement officers every day. For example, in cases involving the smuggling of foreign nationals, numerous arrests have been made, including Immigration officers, but the issue persists.
"Starting now, I do not want to focus on arresting officers alone. We want to go after the agents, companies or individuals who bring in undocumented migrants," he said.
Ahmad Khusairi questioned whether enforcement officers were truly the main cause of corruption in such cases, arguing that agents were often the real instigators.
He cited instances where foreign workers on the blacklist allegedly paid agents up to RM6,000 to enter Malaysia.
"From that amount, the agent may pocket RM5,000 while the enforcement officer gets RM1,000. Who is actually profiting more? It is the agents," he said.
He issued a stern warning to those involved to stop immediately, because several syndicates linked to these agents had already been identified.
"We have a number of syndicates on our radar and firm action will be taken," he said, expressing confidence that these agents were among the main drivers of corruption.
