SEPANG: The Madani government will plug loopholes that present possible opportunities for corruption and not sweep any of it under the carpet.
Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali said such matters that could tarnish the reputation and image of the government must be resolved and not condoned.
"The chance to commit corruption can happen when there are flaws in the legal and internal control systems — for example, the delay in delivering services due to bureaucracy when customers want the services fast.
"Such a situation opens the room for corruption in a bid to get swift services. Therefore, inefficient systems and procedures that have been identified and present corruption opportunities will be changed and enhanced.
"At the Madani Economy presentation by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently, he stressed that good governance must be emphasised to strengthen and renew the public services delivery system.
"The government is serious in implementing the national development agenda free from any elements of corruption, misappropriation and abuse of power," he said at the closing ceremony of the 2nd Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Research Conference today.
Mohd Zuki's speech was read by Public Service (Development) deputy director-general Datuk Azhar Ahmad.
The two-day conference saw presentations of studies by five higher learning institutions on 10 sectors, focusing on the main agenda to empower governance, integrity and anti-corruption.
Among the sectors were enforcement, rural development, environment, public administration, public procurement, transportation, local authorities and government-owned companies.
He said the conference showed the government's will to combat corruption by ensuring good governance and high integrity become the practices and cultures of all parties.
Zuki hoped proactive steps to fight corruption and strengthen governance would be taken based on the new risks highlighted in the studies.
He added that the government would introduce the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS), a continuation of the existing National Anti-Corruption Plan 2019-2023, which is at the end stage of implementation.
"The resolutions from this conference will be made input in concluding the NACS," he said, referring to the 10 resolutions proposed to the government to tackle corruption and abuse of power, improve good governance and stop leakages and wastages.