'Dept heads ignoring MACC reports'
PUTRAJAYA: Some government agencies have been sweeping reports of misconduct involving their own under the rug, despite the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) recommending them to address the problem.
The graft busters are still waiting for government agencies to follow up on at least 500 of such reports, some of which were submitted as far back as 12 years ago.
Speaking to the New Straits Times, MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said it was common practice to notify heads of departments (HODs) of possible wrongdoing by their subordinates.
Statistics shared by the commission showed that 553 misconduct reports were gathering dust.
The bulk of the reports involve the police, at 125, followed by the Road Transport Department.
Azam said the large number of reports against the police, however, was understandable considering the police had the most number of enforcement personnel.
Besides enforcement agencies, there were also misconduct reports against the courts, the Prime Minister's Office, religious authorities, hospitals and health departments, and universities.
Azam said more than 100,000 reports had been submitted to heads of government departments since the country formed an anti-corruption agency in 1967.
"Our investigation will first focus on corruption. If we discover elements of misconduct, it is our duty to report it to HODs. The HODs will then report back to us, confirming that they received the report."
He said a committee comprising selected HODs (to handle such cases) would then be formed to investigate the report.
Their scope of duty, he said, would end once they submitted their report.
"It is this committee that will look into our report. They will decide whether our report has any merit. If not, they can just close the case because it is not a criminal matter.
"Criminal cases will go to court, but cases of misconduct will be reviewed by a committee," he said, adding that the Federal Constitution had stipulated that HODs had the right to decide on the course of action against their men upon investigation.
Azam said a circular had been issued to all HODs.
Unfortunately, many of them chose to ignore reports submitted by the commission, he added.
"That circular has been in place, if I am not mistaken, ever since I joined the service in 1984. It's been 39 years and I am due for retirement soon.
"HODs should not forget about the circular. Many of them just ignore it (MACC's report), and we sent letters to remind them.
"They have to take action because it is a circular by the chief secretary, not my circular. We just follow the order," he said. --Additional reporting by Amalina Kamal
Source: NST
