THE country’s graft-busters have set a three-year deadline for Malaysia to move high up the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad said the agency’s game plan to improve the country’s standing in the global corruption barometer was well in motion.
He was positive that by then, society would stand up firmly against the scourge.
“By 2020, we want a society that abhors corruption.
“Fighting back with ‘Why should I pay!’ will come naturally to them when they are asked for bribes.
“Now, we have reached a stage where many Malaysians feel that even though they detest corruption, they have to grease palms as it seemed expected of them,” he said.
The aim to stem corrupt norms in society, he said, began with public office holders and the civil service.
The commission’s newly launched campaign, GERAH (Gerakan Revolusi Anti-Rasuah/Anti-Corruption Revolutionary Movement), Dzulkifli said, plainly meant “putting the heat on the corrupt”.
“There is no other agenda to this, but to put an end to corrupt practices and abuse of power.
“This war transcends politics, race or religion. MACC is the people’s apparatus in reining in the scourge.”
Dzulkifli said by saying no to graft, it will solve a host of the country’s problems, including the serious social issues Malaysians had been grappling with.
This, he said, included syndicates running vice dens knowing that “they have protection”, environmental degradation and encroachment of the borders.
“Our laws are strong... it is time they are enforced without those responsible for doing so being compromised by corruption,” he said, adding that the MACC target areas were clear and that they covered enforcement, procurement and grand corruption.
Since Dzulkifli came into office in August last year, the agency has been prosecuting cases almost non-stop.
Many of them involved high-profile cases; from abuse of power by Tan Sris, senior government officers and politicians, to bribery involving enforcement agencies.
MACC Deputy Chief Commissioner (operations) Datuk Azam Baki told the New Straits Times that the aim laid out by the commission’s chief to keep the momentum up had been going according to plan.
“There is no scaling back. The minimum (target) set is one case a week and we will make sure of that,” he said.
Malaysia was ranked 54th in the CPI announced by Transparency International Malaysia in January. It fell from number 50 the year before, scoring 50 points (from 52) out of 100.