The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) has cancelled its plan to place the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) under its purview, to enable the latter to maintain its independent status.

EAIC chairman Datuk Yaacob Md Sam said the EAIC believed that MACC should remain totally independent without being regulated by any government agency.

"If MACC is placed under the purview of any other agencies, this will create a perception that it is being controlled and has no elements of freedom," he told reporters here Thursday.

Yaacob said, at present, there were seven independent panels or committees monitoring MACC's operations and its level of discipline.

Besides, he said the MACC was among investigative bodies that could work closely with the EAIC, in which the cooperation could not be exercised if MACC was placed under the EAIC's purview.

In fact, Yaacob said the EAIC-MACC joint investigation team was established to investigate cases on enforcement officers who were involved in misconduct and corruption.

"With this joint venture, EAIC will focus on elements of misconduct, while MACC focusing on elements of corruption. EAIC and MACC will intensify this cooperation to ensure the inquiry to be more effective," he said.

On the proposal to make EAIC as a 'one-stop centre' on the implementation of the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 (Act 711), Yaacob said EAIC welcomed the proposal in efforts to strengthen the implementation of the whistleblowers protection scheme.

"A more comprehensive standard operating procedures (SOPs) will be developed later to ensure this one-stop centre will be more effective and will improve the confidence of the public and in particular, the whistleblowers," he said.

Yaacob also said EAIC received a total of 470 complaints last year compared to 330 complaints in 2015.

He said complaints of misconduct against the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) was the highest reported to EAIC last year with a total of 306 complaints received compared to 219 complaints in 2015.

Other complaints received were 27 reported against the Immigration Department, the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry (15), the Road Transport Department (12) and the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (nine), he said.

"No complaints were received against the Department of Civil Aviation and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks last year," he said.

Of the 470 complaints, the commission decided to open 104 papers for a full investigation to be carried out after they were found to have the basis for a full investigation, he said.

Yaacob said a total of 399 investigation papers for a full investigation were opened since 2012 until last year and 273 complaints had been fully investigated and solved and the complainants were informed of the outcome. -- Bernama