MACC to place officers in Cameron Highlands

MACC director of investigation, Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdull said the increased monitoring will enable corruption to be addressed in a holistic manner.

"The placement of permanent officers in Cameron Highlands is approved by the government, but MACC will place our own officers in the area temporarily as soon as possible.

"Those who have information can channel it to MACC to help support in combating serious issues in the highlands," he said in a statement Sunday.

Mohd Shukri explained that although MACC receives complaints and information from time to time, it is often challenged with lack of evidence.

"In spite of that, the commission through its Inspection and Consulting Division do conduct audits to identify the cause of the problems in Cameron Highlands.

"Following the proposed 12-point suggestions, MACC also received public feedback to open a special office in Cameron Highlands to closely monitor the alleged corruption elements," he said.

He said, one of the issues identified by the commission following their checks there since May 2013, was that there is no specific and systematic avenue for people to lodge complaints on illegal land clearing and corruption.

Meanwhile, in addition to welcoming the solutions provided by the National Security Council and the Cabinet, Mohd Shukri was also happy to note that the Pahang state government has agreed to implement MACC's recommendations to tackle issues in Cameron Highlands.

"The state government and federal government's stand on the matter shows that the problems in Cameron Highlands need to be tackled holistically with concerted efforts, not just efforts from MACC alone," he said.

He said the commission had brought to court last year a corruption case in Cameron Highlands when an illegal settler tried to bribe officers from the highlands' District and Land Office.

Previously, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said his ministry's probe on the recent mud floods in Cameron Highlands revealed a widespread syndicate involving thousands of foreign workers.

Subsequently, agencies under the ministry were directed to track down the syndicate's agents believed to be cheating the workers of various employment offers.