Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Paul Low claimed that it might not be ethical to let the public post pictures of public officials and their families on the website in an effort to purge corruption.
“The whole website is like a court where it actually allows the public to be the judge, regardless of whether it is true or not,” Low told FMT yesterday.
The website, which acts as a whistleblower, was launched yesterday by the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) and is meant as a platform to help the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to determine if certain individuals needed to be investigated for having “unusual wealth”.
The website allows people to post pictures of public officials and politicians who possess an unexplained amount of wealth.
Low, who is in charge of governance, integrity and human rights, also questioned the credibility and authenticity of the information on the proclaimed individuals.
“How can you ensure that the information provided by the public is authentic and does not have other ulterior motives?
“What if the person is innocent? How can the persons defend themselves?” asked Low.
Meanwhile, Low suggested that the platform provide the information of the “accuser” instead of going for an anonymous informer.
The Kleptocrazy Malaysia website comes barely a month after C4 demanded the MACC Act be amended to strengthen the commission’s powers to investigate corrupt practices, especially possession of unusual or unexplained wealth.
The demand came following the arrest of PKR Youth leader Adam Rosly, after allegations of his “unusual wealth”, in April.
C4 executive director Cynthia Gabriel spoke during the launch and urged that the public be part of the fight against corruption.
“We are sitting back and watching. Instead, we should be assisting the MACC in highlighting cases,” she told a crowd that included prominent activists, such as Marina Mahathir and the cartoonist popularly known as Zunar.
Present were Selangor state speaker Hannah Yeoh and veteran journalist R Nadeswaran, who were also among the panellists at the forum.
According to Gabriel, the website will play a vital role, especially in keeping political leaders in check with the general election just around the corner.
However, she was quick to point out that the interactive platform was not to target any individual nor was there any personal vendetta attached to this initiative.
New C4 site lets public report politicians’ ‘unusual’ wealth