KUALA LUMPUR: Fighting corruption is not the sole responsibility of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) but there is an overdependence on the commission.
MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki said this overdependence is prominent in the most basic functions including report writing, where parties whose officers had been booked for offences were always waiting for the official report from MACC.
"They are always waiting for our report even though all these entities have their own integrity units which should be working on their own parallel reports. These reports which list their own investigations' findings and recommendations are crucial to fix the problem, systems or procedures so there are no other officers taking advantage of the lack of vigilance again."
During a special interview with the New Straits Times to mark the commission's 54th anniversary themed 'Semarakkan Integriti, Rasuah Diperangi', Azam said MACC's busts were not a show of prowess or to impose hefty penalties on individuals who stepped out of line, but were reminders to plug loopholes within the system of public administration.
He drew on insidious project cartels where tenders awarded always appeared to be above board with all conditions and procedures fulfilled.
Azam, however, said these processes were manipulated by some parties to sweep or dominate scores of projects under the same department.
Moving ahead he said the national graftbuster hopes to curb this practice once and for all with the introduction of beneficiary ownership laws which criminalise all interest holders within firms.
"The legislation would mean that all parties with interests and their proxies need to be disclosed and that they can be charged under criminal law. This can stop the cartels because currently there is no specific law that targets them."
He further said that the commission was now on the path of helping the country reduce leakages of taxpayers' funds and as such their operations revolved around the sectors of procurement, enforcement and high-profile cases.
Azam said other cases were still investigated, but most of the commission's focus went to these three areas as such cases had a higher public impact as they involved public funds.
"Taxpayers' money have to be managed properly and if left undetected these incidents of misappropriation, embezzlement and abuse of power could cause huge losses to the country. Hence, MACC's shifting gears and going heavy on enforcement is justified so that the funds do not disappear just like that."
Azam also said that MACC was particularly training their guns on corruption within the civil service, that features heavily in these three areas.
He said that the commission had changed its game to thoroughly analyse every report received before busting suspects and it has yielded results in catching the big fish in civil service that have been using their positions to line their pockets.
"We used to strike as soon as we got these reports. However, these kingpins were extremely shrewd and hard to trace. Now with us covering extensive ground by analysing the case stealthily behind the scenes, they are not on the alert and we have the advantage of catching them off guard."
He said their investigations have found that these big fish usually slip through enforcement officers fingers as the "higher the profile the greater the protection and clout, which is conducive for the parties to form and operate thriving cartels and syndicates".
He said this was why MACC changed its modus operandi by analysing cases first before making it known that these activities were now on the commission's radar.
"This is why we are seeing Jusa C and Jusa B civil servants that are starting to get caught now. Ten years before this might not have happened, but now with our switch in tack these cases can be exposed."
Asked how the graftbusters handled conflict of interest when investigating cases against their own officers, Azam said he would not
compromise with any parties including if charges were levelled against his own children.
On laws related to political funding, he stressed it was high time it was introduced in Malaysia.
He said that reports on dubious practices within the broadly defined culture of political financing could not be effectively investigated as there was no law governing the practice in the nation.
"There is no clarity on what is a bribe and what is political financing because this is a major loophole that is being taken advantage of."
Azam said that such practises are regarded as corruption but cases filed in court have been rejected because political financing is accepted as something which is not defined as a crime under the law.
He said a draft on the laws had been done by the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption but it was a work in progress as a recent meeting attended by the commission found that many aspects of the legal framework needed to be detailed and strengthened.
Azam, however, said that after it is completed, the draft would be brought to the cabinet special committee which has been tasked with anti-corruption matters.