PUTRAJAYA: Tan Sri Azam Baki revealed that he was told by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that he has full authority to probe any civil servant including ministers involved in corruption cases.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner said the prime minister told him that he did not need to wait for Anwar's "blessing" to begin his investigation.
"I personally can say that the prime minister is someone who is serious in eliminating corruption and he had told me - Azam, if there's any government officers, ministers who are living lavishly or my special officers or any special officers who are involved in corruption, please investigate."
"He also said, - Don't wait for my instruction or blessing, I give you all the blessing to investigate these people," Azam said in his speech at the Communication and Digital Ministry Integrity Day.
Azam added that Anwar had also repeatedly expressed his commitment to increasing intergrity and good governance in eliminating corruption for a 'clean' government.
In doing so, Azam said, reforms needed to be made particularly on outdated procedures and laws especially in ministries and government sectors.
Azam said MACC is also amplifying their efforts through the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) which is in the works and expected to be launched next year by the prime minister.
"Align with the government's wishes and prime minister's commitment to increase integrity and eliminate corruption - there should be more improvements in governance.
"There are a lot of procedures and laws that should be improved and studied. MACC would discuss with the Communication and Digital Ministry including other agencies and ministries to improve outdated governance and work methods," he said.
Azam also expressed MACC's commitment to carry out preventive enforcement efforts as well as community education to combat corruption and abuse of power