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27 June 2012| last updated at 11:28AM

Tackling graft is new Customs chief’s priority

By ALANG BENDAHARA AND AISYAH SULAIMAN

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PUTRAJAYA: Royal Malaysian Customs’ new director-general Datuk Khazali Ahmad has vowed to crack down on corruption among his men.

He said the move would dispel the perception that graft was institutionalised in the department.

Khazali was also confident that once the “leaks” and “weaknesses” were arrested, the revenue of the country’s second largest income earner could go beyond what had been set by the government.

“We are tasked with bringing in a revenue of RM33 billion this year and we are confident that with the new initiatives that we will be taking, Customs revenue could go well past that," he told the New Straits Times yesterday.

Khazali, 57, who was appointed last Friday, is the second administrative and diplomatic officer to hold the Customs director-general's post.

He also said the department would embark on massive operations in identified areas to recoup revenues that had been left uncollected.

"We will find ways to plug these holes to ensure that there will be no more 'leaks'.

"We know that the department is capable of bringing in more, so we want to ensure that our men are doing their job right and conducting sound assessments and evaluations.

"We will revisit our working system so that we can bring in more than what is expected."

In 2010, the department collected RM28.3 billion in duties and tax.

Last year, it saw an increase when it collected RM30.4 billion.

Khazali said the department would also monitor and engage its staff, especially those in remote areas as they were more likely to be involved in illegal activities.

"Those in these places tend to feel like it is 'safer' for them to be lax, or conduct illicit transactions, thinking they are not being watched.

"They need to carry out their duties honestly and diligently to avoid being implicated in any illegal activities."

To tackle the issue of underdeclaration of taxes, Khazali said by August, the department planned to take in 100 more contract auditors for increasing its audit clearance activities and putting in place accurate tax rates.

He said it was also crucial for Customs to focus on the auditing of taxes and identify the areas where duties were not correctly paid or declared.

Evaluations, he added would be done on companies that made wrongful, inaccurate declarations or undervalued their goods according to old market prices.

Khazali said the department was working towards its aim of having a world-class administration system by 2015.

"We are working towards introducing a 'new' Customs Department and departing from its archaic ways."

Pix by Ahmad Irham Mohd Noor

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