Even schoolchildren give, take bribes, says MACC chief commissioner

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Datuk Seri Mohd Shukri Abdull

PUTRAJAYA: Bribery occurs at school too and even schoolchildren give and take bribes, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Mohd Shukri Abdull disclosed.

Speaking at the MACC-MOE (Ministry of Education) Consensus Forum here yesterday, Mohd Shukri said there were cases in which students bribed their classmates just to be appointed as class monitor or even to gain support as the school’s head boy.

“They are still schooling and yet they already know how to use money (to manipulate people). How can we trust them to be our leaders one day?” he asked, while emphasising the importance on early education on anti-corruption.

Mohd Shukri said there was also a case in which a teacher soliciting ‘sexual favour’ from students who wanted to pass their examinations.

He said the MACC had proposed to the MOE and had even discussed with Minister Dr Maszlee Malik for corruption to be made a core subject in school to inculcate anti-corruption culture among the students.

“Let’s make the students despise corruption because, at the moment, the corruption rate in Malaysia is very embarrassing and worrying to the extent of the country being deemed a kleptocracy.

“When asked, many speakers wouldn’t dare to tell the truth about corruption in the country, most of them will just say it is under control.

“But let me tell you the truth. The corruption rate in Malaysia is worrying, we scored 52 points in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) in 2014 and it decreased to only 47 points last year.

“So tell me, is this good or bad? This is a fact, we are known to the world as a kleptocratic country, not a country of integrity. It is embarrassing,” he said.

The 2017 CPI issued by the Transparency International (TI) last February showed that Malaysia’s position had dropped from 55th to 62nd out of 180 countries after garnering only 47 out of 100 points. — Bernama