Many corruption cases involve issue of leakages in govt procurements - MACC head

Most of the corruption cases from 2015 until now involve a lot of leakages in government procurements, said Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki.

Without divulging details of the cases, he said that of late there had been more cases of government officers working in government-linked companies (GLC) being involved in misappropriation in government procurements, thus resulting in the loss of millions of ringgit.

“Our responsibility is to ensure that these GLC officers adhere to good governance and improve their integrity in corporate governance.

“For example, there was previously a case in Sabah where the government had paid out RM1.5 billion for a water supply project in the state. But, when the MACC investigated, it was found that the actual cost of the project was less than half the amount released,” he said in an interview with Melakafm radio station today.

He said the excess amount paid out had disappeared and, upon investigation, the MACC arrested three senior government officers, whose case is still going on, and seized RM114 million from them.

Meanwhile, commenting on the 2019-2023 National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP), Azam said the Prime Minister (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin) was still committed to continuing effective anti-corruption efforts by supporting MACC’s various activities.

Azam said the plan provided many initiatives to effectively combat corruption.

He said the MACC practised transparency to the people by making announcements regarding such cases or high-profile cases so that the public was aware of the results of its investigations.

Bernama had reported in early January that the NACP was launched to strengthen and enhance integrity among civil servants.

-- BERNAMA