Corruption

As MACC is facing worst crisis of confidence in 55 year history of anti-corruption agency, Ismail Sabri should extend special Parliament to two days with the second day specially devoted to restoring public confidence in government’s anti-corruption programme

By Kit

January 07, 2022

The Prime Minister, Ismail Sabri, has called for a special Dewan Rakyat meeting on January 20 focussing on the floods disaster in various areas in Malaysia.

It is an eternal shame to the Malaysian Parliament that the government was not prepared to have a special debate on the floods disaster when the floods were at or near their worst at a time when Parliament was still in session, but now there is going to be a special one-day Parliament on the floods disaster on January 2001.

At present, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is facing its worst crisis of confidence in the 55-year history of the country’s anti-corruption agency (which started in 1967 as the Anti-Corruption Agency under its first director Harun Hashim).

Ismail Sabri should extend the Special Parliament to two days, with the second day on January 21 specially devoted to restoring public confidence in the government’s anti-corruption programme.

Only then can the Malaysian Parliament and the Prime Minister be said to be on top of the Big Issues confronting the nation.

A former MACC Anti-Corruption Advisory Board Chairman has endorsed my statement yesterday that the Board had acted ultra vires in clearing the MACC Chief Commissioner Azam Baki of conflict-of-interest allegation when the Board has no power to do so under Section 13 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009.

The former MACC Anti-Corruption Advisory Board Chairman said:

“When I was chairperson, I was aware of the fact that I was put in a purely advisory capacity. Things were done on a need-to-know basis, so issues outside our scope were really out of our reach.”

He said the role of the advisory board is to advise the commission on any aspect of the corruption problem in Malaysia and on policies and strategies of the commission in its efforts to eradicate corruption, as stipulated under the MACC Act 2009.

It is also entrusted, among others, to scrutinise and endorse proposals from the commission towards the efficient and effective running of the commission.

It is hilarious to say the least that the MACC’s Anti-Corruption Advisory Board had cleared the MACC Chief Commissioner of the conflict-of-interest allegation when it is not empowered under the law to do so.

Furthermore, the MACC’s Anti-Corruption Advisory Board had cleared Azam in a manner which any ordinary Malaysian would find amazing – without any proper investigation or calling up the relevant people to testify but solely on the statement of the Chief Commissioner!

The former MACC Anti-Corruption Advisory Board Chairman was most scathing when he said:

“The whole thing is a joke. You call these people commissioners, but they are just government officers. The commissioners should be in a board of commissioners, which should be a governing body, but it has never existed. (It is now) the tail wagging the dog, instead of the dog wagging the tail.”

There is a double confidence crisis – a confidence crisis over the MACC Chief Commissioner, Azam Baki, and another confidence crisis over the usefulness and value of the five so-called “independent” committees that monitor the MACC on its integrity and performance.

This double crisis of confidence in the government anti-corruption programme should be addressed and resolved in the second day of the Special Parliament, preferably on January 21, 2022.

I am surprised that PAS has come to the defence of Azam Baki, saying that the latter’s “tell-all” press conference on the conflict-of-interest allegation should put matters to rest.

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department is the PAS MP for Kuala Krai, Abdul Latiff bin Abdul Rahman.

Is it as a result of the directive from his party PAS which is the reason why the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department has not met or summoned Azam Baki to appear before the SSC to clear himself of the conflict-of-interest allegation?

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, 7th January 2022)

Memandangkan SPRM berdepan krisis keyakinan terburuk dalam sejarah 55 tahun agensi anti-rasuah, Ismail Sabri perlu melanjutkan sesi Parlimen khas kepada dua hari dengan hari kedua dikhususkan untuk memulihkan keyakinan orang ramai terhadap program pencegahan rasuah oleh kerajaan

Perdana Menteri, Ismail Sabri, mahu mengadakan sidang khas Dewan Rakyat pada 20 Januari ini bagi membahaskan isu bencana banjir yang melanda pelbagai kawasan di Malaysia.

Adalah memalukan apabila kerajaan tidak bersedia untuk mengadakan mesyuarat khas mengenai banjir semasa bencana itu melanda negara pada tahap yang paling buruk ketika Parlimen masih bersidang sebelum ini.

Ketika ini, Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) sedang menghadapi krisis keyakinan yang paling teruk dalam sejarah 55 tahun agensi anti-rasuah negara (yang bermula pada 1967 sebagai Badan Pencegah Rasuah di bawah pengarah pertamanya Harun Hashim) .

Ismail Sabri sepatutnya melanjutkan sesi mesyuarat khas Parlimen kepada dua hari, dengan hari kedua pada 21 Januari dikhususkan untuk memulihkan keyakinan orang ramai terhadap usaha pencegahan rasuah oleh kerajaan.

Selepas itu, barulah Parlimen Malaysia dan Perdana Menteri boleh dikatakan telah berjaya menangani isu-isu besar yang dihadapi negara.

Mantan Pengerusi Lembaga Penasihat Pencegahan Rasuah SPRM telah mengesahkan kenyataan saya semalam bahawa Lembaga Pengarah telah bertindak ultra vires dalam membersihkan nama Ketua Pesuruhjaya SPRM Azam Baki daripada dakwaan konflik kepentingan kerana Lembaga Pengarah tidak mempunyai kuasa untuk berbuat demikian di bawah Seksyen 13 Akta Akta Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia 2009.

Mantan Pengerusi Lembaga Penasihat Pencegahan Rasuah SPRM itu berkata:

“Semasa saya menjadi pengerusi, saya sedar hakikat bahawa saya diletakkan dalam kapasiti menasihat semata-mata. Perkara dilakukan atas dasar hal yang perlu diketahui saja, jadi isu di luar skop kami benar-benar di luar jangkauan kami.”

Beliau berkata, peranan lembaga penasihat itu adalah untuk menasihati suruhanjaya itu mengenai sebarang aspek masalah rasuah di Malaysia dan dasar serta strategi suruhanjaya itu dalam usaha membanteras rasuah, seperti yang termaktub di bawah Akta SPRM 2009.

Lembaga itu juga diamanahkan, antara lain untuk meneliti dan mengesahkan cadangan daripada suruhanjaya supaya ia menjadi cekap dan berkesan.

Adalah melucukan untuk mengatakan bahawa Lembaga Penasihat Pencegahan Rasuah SPRM sekurang-kurangnya telah membersihkan Ketua Pesuruhjaya SPRM daripada dakwaan konflik kepentingan sedangkan badan itu tidak diberi kuasa di bawah undang-undang untuk berbuat demikian.

Tambahan pula, Lembaga Penasihat Pencegahan Rasuah SPRM telah membersihkan nama Azam dengan cara yang begitu menakjubkan – tanpa sebarang siasatan yang sewajarnya atau memanggil individu yang berkenaan untuk memberi keterangan, sebaliknya bergantung sepenuhnya terhadap kenyataan Ketua Pesuruhjaya tersebut!

Mantan Pengerusi Lembaga Penasihat Pencegahan Rasuah SPRM itu mengeluarkan kenyataan paling tajam:

“Semuanya adalah gurauan. Anda panggil mereka ini pesuruhjaya, tetapi mereka hanya pegawai kerajaan. Pesuruhjaya sepatutnya menjadi lembaga pesuruhjaya, yang sepatutnya menjadi badan pentadbir, tetapi ia tidak pernah wujud,”

Terdapat krisis keyakinan berganda – krisis keyakinan terhadap Ketua Pesuruhjaya SPRM, Azam Baki, dan satu lagi krisis keyakinan terhadap kebergunaan dan nilai lima jawatankuasa yang dianggap “bebas” yang memantau integriti dan prestasi SPRM.

Krisis keyakinan berganda terhadap program pencegahan rasuah kerajaan ini wajar ditangani dan diselesaikan pada hari kedua mesyuarat khas Parlimen, sebaik-baiknya pada 21 Januari 2022.

Saya terkejut apabila PAS bertindak membela Azam Baki, dengan mengatakan bahawa penjelasan yang diberikan Ketua Pesuruhjaya SPRM itu dalam satu sidang media baru-baru ini sudah memadai untuk menutup isu tersebut.

Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pilihan Khas Bagi Agensi-Agensi Di Bawah Jabatan Perdana Menteri adalah Ahli Parlimen PAS Kuala Krai, Abdul Latiff bin Abdul Rahman.

Adakah arahan daripada PAS yang menjadi punca Jawatankuasa Pilihan Khas Bagi Agensi-Agensi Di Bawah Jabatan Perdana Menteri tidak bermesyuarat atau memanggil Azam Baki untuk menghadap SSC bagi membersihkan dirinya daripada dakwaan konflik kepentingan?

(Kenyataan Media oleh Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Kuala Lumpur pada hari Jumaat, 7 Januari 2022)