There is room for MACC to improve, says Jamidan
PUTRAJAYA: Although the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) transformation programme has taken it to greater heights, the anti-graft body feels there is still much room for improvement.
Deputy Chief Commissioner of Management and Professionalism Datuk Seri Mohd Jamidan Abdullah said areas such as facilities and manpower were still lacking and needed to be enhanced for the commission to be more efficient.
“Since undergoing our transformation programme in 2011, the MACC has seen much improvement in its operations and professionalism.
“Through upgrading of our facilities and equipment with better technology, we are able to conduct our investigations in a more professional manner.
“We have a special operations division which helps us to handle high-profile cases better and our forensics division has better technology, and all of these allows us to combat corruption in the best possible manner.
“However, there are still some weaknesses which we hope to improve on, for example, our facilities.
“Some state MACC do not have their own building to house its headquarters, and this hampers investigation process,” said Mohd Jamidan in an interview with the press here yesterday.
He said a well-equipped MACC headquarters should have its own lock-up cell, investigation rooms with audio and video recording facilities and a sizeable confiscation warehouse.
“At the moment, only the Kuala Lumpur headquarters has its own confiscation warehouse, and this is not enough to house all the seized items, especially when the items are vehicles or heavy machinery,” he said.
Mohd Jamidan said that as an enforcement body with the power to arrest individuals, the MACC’s facilities at its headquarters should be “on par” with that of the police.
On manpower, he said at present, the MACC had 2,937 officers and another 76 posted in government ministries, departments and GLCs (government-linked companies) as chief integrity officers (CeIOs).
“In Budget 2013, the Prime Minister announced a target of 5,000 officers for MACC, which is to be achieved through the intake of at least 150 new officers in a year.
“We are still behind the 5,000 target and we hope to increase the manpower, although we are aware of the economic difficulties faced by the Government,” he said.
Despite the shortfalls, Mohd Jamidan said the commission was still able to complete its tasks and do a good job while at it.
“The MACC has constantly met its KPI (Key Performance Index) targets set by the Government. Even though there are areas which needs improvement, we are able to curb corruption with what we have,” he said.
Mohd Jamidan also highlighted the success of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Academy which received recognition from other countries.
“We have at present over a hundred officers from countries all over the world who are training at our academy.
“This is a form of recognition of the quality of our training courses,” he said.
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