Time to tighten anti-graft laws

By R. Nadeswaran. The Sun

With the spate of high profile corruption cases being thrown out, the perception is that the investigations or prosecution or both fouled up. Again, this is public perception. However hard one tries to justify the MACC’s efforts, the last words, rightly or wrongly, will be: They screwed up.

>> A TOP civil servant is caught with RM100,000 in his house. He cannot account for it or where it came from.

>> A planning officer in a local council owns two houses valued at more than RM800,000. On a salary of less than RM4,000, she cannot explain how she managed to buy them.

>> A clerk at the Road Transport Department drives a new Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) while the wife drives a Honda Accord. On his salary, he cannot maintain two cars.

WITHOUT going into legalese and formality, the first impression one gets is that these three people have amassed ill-gotten gains. But as the law stands, they don’t have to explain anything to anyone, unless of course, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) orders them to declare their assets. What if the houses are in the names of some proxy or the cars in the name of a godfather who paid for them? And that’s where it all ends.

With the spate of high profile corruption cases being thrown out, the perception is that the investigations or prosecution or both fouled up. Again, this is public perception. However hard one tries to justify the MACC’s efforts, the last words, rightly or wrongly, will be: They screwed up. And of course comparisons will be drawn with Singapore which despite not having specific anti-corruption laws is able to send corrupt people to jail while we seem to be struggling despite having a posse of officers and the best legal brains.

Don’t blame the judiciary. The judges weigh the evidence before them and decide if an accused person is guilty. They are not supposed to act like you and me and come to conclusions based on our perceptions.

MACC deputy commissioner (operations) Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdul could not have put it better. The failure to get convictions in some high-profile cases, he said, gives the public a negative perception of the agency, as though we are not taking matters seriously.

It is understandable that in some instances prosecution witnesses have turned hostile, therefore necessitating a withdrawal of the charges or acquittal without the defence being called. But in fairness to him, all will agree that he is right when he adds that the most important factor in a case is whether a corrupt act took place. It does not matter whether the right hand or the left hand passed the money.

Mohd Shukri should ask himself and his fellow officers: Why are we losing the cases? Is it because of our investigative process? Did our officers present the case to the courts properly? Is our system of using suspects to turn crown witnesses going awry? Do we need to tighten the laws where there is no need to prove beyond reasonable doubt in graft cases? Why does the public view us that way?

Perhaps it is time the MACC follows the lead set by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in Hongkong by incorporating a simple clause which should read: “It shall be an offence for any individual to have assets disproportionate to his or her legitimate income.” This would be a catch-all clause for all those who are flaunting their wealth with ill-gotten money. In simple terms, it means that if you own four houses and three luxury cars, you must be able to provide documentary evidence that the money came from legitimate sources and not some shady deal or from a backhander from a contractor.

But the million ringgit question is: Will our lawmakers agree to such a clause? Will the civil servants take umbrage at the proposal which will make them accountable for every single sen in their possession? What about the high-rollers and the politicians? Will they not lobby to prevent such an addition to the existing legislation? More importantly, are we ready for such a law?

In Finland, which often tops Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, you can find out where your neighbour got the money to renovate his house. Everyone’s tax declaration is on the Net, and everyone has access to everyone’s tax payments. It is not in the least suggested that we take this route, but for a start, let’s set the wheels in motion for the “assets not proportionate to income” clause to be incorporated in the MACC Act.

For too long, we have been moaning and groaning about corruption spiralling to uncontrollable levels. The government has on several occasions stated its stand on corruption and is providing extra funds to fight it. It should take the lead in pushing for such change or will there be any takers from MPs – irrespective of which side of the divide – to table a Private Member’s Bill to this effect?