MALAYSIA
The Director General of the Malaysian Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre (GIACC), Abu Kassim Mohamed (pictured) says one of his biggest challenges is the presence of “bad apples” in the Public Service who are still loyal to the previous regime.
The top anticorruption adviser to the Government said there was a need for urgent legislative reform to ensure the scandals that happened under previous Prime Minister, Najib Razak were not repeated.
“Bad apples are everywhere, it doesn’t mean you have to put up with them,” Tan Sri Abu Kassim said on the sidelines of a symposium organised by Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption.
He pointed to his Agency’s proposal for a new law specifically directed towards high-ranking officials and politicians.
“If you abuse your power to cost losses to the Government, or you use your power for personal gain, you need to be dealt with a law targeted against that,” Tan Sri Abu Kassim said.
He touted Malaysia’s climb in key governance and anticorruption rankings, such as the Rule of Law Index by the World Justice Project, as proof of the progress being made.
In addition, a recent Ipsos survey found that Malaysians’ concerns about corruption in the Government fell from 47 per cent last year to 32 per cent now.
“One very important factor is strong leadership and a commitment towards a no-tolerance approach to corruption,” Tan Sri Abu Kassim said.
“Today we have that with the new leadership, and that has a ripple effect.”
Kuala Lumpur, 25 May 2019
