The website, which was launched by the anti-graft NGO on Saturday, is to serve as a whistleblower site to highlight cases of public officials and politicians said to have “unusual wealth”.
Cynthia said certain procedures will be followed strictly and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will be the one to decide whether any case needs further investigation.
“There are procedures in place and the public will only play its part in the initial stage, which is reporting.
“MACC will be the gatekeeper and determine if the case is valid or not,” Cynthia said.
She was responding to claims by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Paul Low that the public should not be involved in judging individuals deemed to be corrupt.
The issue of authenticity and credibility of the information is questionable, Low had said when commenting on the launching of the website.
Cynthia said the site will be managed by a moderator from C4 and every report submitted will be evaluated, with only cases proven to be credible to be posted online.
“We will not simply post any case. “The moderator will evaluate each case brought up by the public from time to time,” Cynthia said.
“If the case is not deemed credible by MACC, we will not pursue the case and remove it from the website.”
She said the public is the most important element in any check and balance to curb corruption.
Cynthia stressed that the public should be encouraged to report public officials and politicians alleged to have “unusual wealth” because it involves taxpayers’ money.
“The public should be involved and encouraged to report any illicit enrichment of public officials because it has to do with tax money paid by the public,” Cynthia told FMT.
She added that Kleptocrazy Malaysia is also a way to push politicians into declaring their assets to the public.
“This effort will eventually push all politicians to declare their assets so that it is proven that there is no public wealth embezzlement and that they did not become exponentially wealthy.”
She lamented the fact that fear overwhelmed the culture of reporting in Malaysia.
She said whistleblowers should be rewarded and appreciated instead of living in a state of fear and being unable to disclose the truth.
The idea for Kleptocrazy Malaysia was hatched barely a month after C4 demanded that 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” surfaced in April.
Kleptocrazy site: ‘Why should public be judge?’ asks minister
New C4 site lets public report politicians’ ‘unusual’ wealth