Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah said that MACC had frequently investigated cases of corruption only to “hit a dead end as the attorney-general allows the files on his desk to collect dust”.
“MACC’s powers need to be upgraded to avoid being a toothless tiger. Otherwise, Malaysia will continue to slide into the abyss of corruption,” Maria said in a statement today.
She made the call after global anti-corruption body Transparency International (TI) released its 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) that showed Malaysia had slid a further seven places compared to the year before.
Malaysia is now placed at 62 among 180 countries, its worst performance in the last five years.
Malaysia also scored 47 out of 100 and placed third among 10 Asean countries, but was left far behind Singapore and Brunei in terms of points.
Maria said Malaysia had witnessed grand corruption scandals involving large sums of money in recent years, citing cases that involved 1MDB, Felda Global Ventures, Mara, Tabung Haji and the National Feedlot Corporation.
She said that while the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Bank Negara Malaysia’s foreign exchange trading losses from 30 years ago was completed quickly, investigations of 1MDB remained closed.
This was despite ongoing investigations being carried out overseas, of which the United States Department of Justice was one example, she said.
“If the government is truly sincere about transparency and economic accountability, then they should start by openly investigating 1MDB.
“Prime Minister Najib Razak, who doubles as finance minister, cannot expect that the removal of the 1MDB board of directors is sufficient.
“Measures to address corruption, recover the stolen funds, plug leakages in the system and punish the culprits are crucial steps that the government must take as caretakers of the nation, and in protecting the interests of the people,” she said.
Maria said the way forward was by implementing institutional reforms to put in place processes to prevent abuse of power, violation of public trust and to ensure that all members of the government were held accountable and responsible for their actions.