PUTRAJAYA: The heat is now on members of the public who try to buy their way out of trouble with enforcement officers.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has begun a nationwide blitz against these offenders.
MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Abu Kassim Mohamed said MACC was now giving equal focus to “givers” and “receivers” because most people arrested for corruption were those who received bribes.
But more “givers” are being nabbed over the past three years.
From 2000 till last year, 866 members of the public were arrested for attempting to bribe civil servants, 90 per cent of them from enforcement agencies.
Since the beginning of this year, 16 have been brought to courts or are waiting to be prosecuted.
MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Abu Kassim Mohamed said MACC was now giving equal focus to “givers” and “receivers” because most people arrested for corruption were those who received bribes.
But more “givers” are being nabbed over the past three years.
From 2000 till last year, 866 members of the public were arrested for attempting to bribe civil servants, 90 per cent of them from enforcement agencies.
Since the beginning of this year, 16 have been brought to courts or are waiting to be prosecuted.
In 2007, of the 591 arrested for alleged corruption, 303 were civil servants. In 2008, the number dwindled to 282, or about half of the 605 arrested.
Last year, of the 500 arrests, 194 were civil servants.
MACC’s number two, Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdull, said the difference in the numbers showed that civil servants had begun to reject corruption and report such attempts to MACC.
Shukri said MACC was also pushing for deterrent sentences as corruption was responsible for the immense amount of drugs and notorious criminals entering the countryUnder Section 17(b) of the MACC Act, those giving bribes can be jailed up to 20 years and fined not less than five times the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
Abu Kassin said MACC officers would have their eyes and ears to the ground to catch offenders red-handed.
He said MACC would work with enforcement agencies to "trap" offenders when the need arose.
Abu Kassim spoke to reporters after the launch of the "Let's Make a Change, Fight Corruption" campaign by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan here yesterday.
Also present were heads of enforcement agencies, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan, Customs director-general Datuk Seri Ibrahim Jaapar and Cuepacs president Omar Osman.
Sidek, in his speech, reminded heads of department against the culture of "wanting to be popular" by not taking action against corrupt fellow officers.
Last year, of the 500 arrests, 194 were civil servants.
MACC’s number two, Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdull, said the difference in the numbers showed that civil servants had begun to reject corruption and report such attempts to MACC.
Shukri said MACC was also pushing for deterrent sentences as corruption was responsible for the immense amount of drugs and notorious criminals entering the countryUnder Section 17(b) of the MACC Act, those giving bribes can be jailed up to 20 years and fined not less than five times the bribe or RM10,000, whichever is higher.
Abu Kassin said MACC officers would have their eyes and ears to the ground to catch offenders red-handed.
He said MACC would work with enforcement agencies to "trap" offenders when the need arose.
Abu Kassim spoke to reporters after the launch of the "Let's Make a Change, Fight Corruption" campaign by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan here yesterday.
Also present were heads of enforcement agencies, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan, Customs director-general Datuk Seri Ibrahim Jaapar and Cuepacs president Omar Osman.
Sidek, in his speech, reminded heads of department against the culture of "wanting to be popular" by not taking action against corrupt fellow officers.
He also said while many civil servants rejected corrupt practices, they often failed to report bribery attempts.
Anti-corruption laws, he pointed out, spelt out clearly that any attempts at bribery must be reported.
Sidek honoured eight personnel from various enforcement agencies who had turned down bribes of tens of thousands of ringgit offered to them and instead arrested the givers.
They included senior criminal investigation officer Azam Ismail, who declined an offer of RM20,000 to let off a fellow police officer who was booked for soliciting money from a suspect.
Sidek honoured eight personnel from various enforcement agencies who had turned down bribes of tens of thousands of ringgit offered to them and instead arrested the givers.
They included senior criminal investigation officer Azam Ismail, who declined an offer of RM20,000 to let off a fellow police officer who was booked for soliciting money from a suspect.
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