The Malaysian Community Care Foundation (MCCF) said such punishment was necessary as fines and jail sentences alone were not enough to prevent such crimes from being repeated.

“Corrupt practices are seen to be increasingly prevalent in Malaysian society, which if not addressed properly, will result in the spread of various forms of crime in the country including gambling, prostitution, illegal immigrants, human trafficking, weapons smuggling and others.

“However, MCCF suggests that corporal punishment is meted out on those who give and receive bribes. Thus, they should be subject to strict penalties including caning,” its chairman, Halim Ishak said in a statement today.

“MACC should also play a more effective role in ensuring that corruption among civil servants or in the private sector does not fester,” he said.