Hasbilah (fifth right) and the Chinese community leaders who attend the briefing.
KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is looking at having misconduct categorised as act of corruption.
According to Sabah MACC deputy director Hasbilah Mohamad Salleh, the proposal is now being studied at the Commission’s level before being presented to Parliament.
The proposal arose after feedback from the public who questioned why misconduct is not
categorised as an act of corruption, he said at a briefing with leaders from the Chinese community in the state capital on Saturday night.
Hasbilah said that the public are asking why misconduct is not categorised as corruption because there are some acts of misconduct that can lead to corrupt offences.
“We are now studying the proposal which will take time as we also need input from the federal Attorney-General’s office because this involves amendment to the Constitution and the existing law.
“We also need to look at the evidence needed if we need to prove that the act of misconduct had led to an act of corruption,” he stressed.
When asked to give some examples of misconduct, Hasbilah cited the cases of government procuments which involved prices of the goods and equipment being marked up by some departments.
“For instance like one of the participants pointed out just
now, cases in the Auditor-General’s report which revealed instances where the price of stationery was increased exorbitantly.
“Actually a lot of the misconduct findings come from the Auditor General,” he said.
Earlier during the briefing, Hasbilah who was assisted by a MACC officer from its headquarters, Lim Gim Shin, was asked if the act of a government officer who purposely delays his or her work with the hope of being given an inducement is considered as an act of corruption.
His reply was that if the officer delays the work because of laziness, then that is an issue of integrity and discipline. This individual can be reported to the department head and will face disciplinary action.
“But if the individual purposely delays the job because he or she expects some form of payment in order to expedite the work, we can say that whatever the person receives is a bribe. We urge the public to report such individual(s) so that action can be taken,” he said.
Hasbilah also assured the public that MACC is always on the lookout for cases of corruption so that those involved are made to face the music.
“Our sources come from all quarters, including the printed and electronic media. If we come across any report of alleged corrupt practices, we will start investigations,” he stressed.
According to him further, the Chinese community in the state can help to be the eyes and ears of MACC as it needs their help to combat and eradicate corruption.
MACC, he said, wants to make these community leaders the icon of integrity and models of good behavior who can help out with anti-corruption awareness campaigns.