Press Statement
30th March 2021
MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki told The Sunday Star that fighting corruption among civil servants is particularly important. Azam should practice what he preaches by launching a full investigation into the dirty and corrupt police “cartels” exposed by Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador.
However, Azam said that MACC has no intention of probing the police “cartel” scandal for the reason that it is an internal problem among the police, and as such should be resolved internally. Such logic is perverted and preposterous.
Corruption is not an internal problem to be resolved internally, but a crime that must be resolved publicly in courts. Azam should know the international best practices against corruption that require an independent body to investigate and act, not an internal inquiry that would tend to minimise or cover up wrongdoings.
Applying Azam’s logic, there is no need for MACC to investigate and arrest police personnel for corruption or any person for that matter, since it can also be resolved internally. What are the circumstances that make it an internal matter and who decides whether it can be resolved internally?
Clearly MACC has abdicated its responsibility and statutory duty under Section 7 of the MACC Act that requires MACC to “detect and investigate” suspected offences and “to examine the practices, systems and procedures of public bodies”. By refusing to investigate, public confidence in MACC’s credibility and professionalism have been severely affected when Tan Sri Abdul Hamid disclosed that even a former IGP was on the payroll of crime syndicates.
Since the MACC has refused to act, there is an urgent public need to make up for MACC’s failure by establishing a Royal Commission of Inquiry to ensure that we can get to the root of the problem and clean up the police force from dirty and corrupt police “cartels”. Again, MPs are unable to compel de facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan to do so, since Takiyuddin no longer needs to account to Parliament which has been suspended.
Closing down Parliament has allowed not just government Ministers, but also government enforcement agencies like MACC not to do their fit and proper jobs in the public interest.
Lim Guan Eng
DAP Secretary-General
