MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said the number of corruption cases with women as the perpetrators was on the rise.

He said 824 women had been arrested from 2017 until August this year. Of the number, 356 had been charged in court.

“The women who were charged were those with power and held positions. When I first joined MACC, which was then known as ACA (Anti-Corruption Agency), there were hardly any women arrested for corruption in a year,” he told Bernama.

On political financing, Azam said there was a need to formulate a law to expedite the requirements for politicians and political parties to declare the funds they received.

He said whether political financing was lawful or not depended on the definition in the law, which may differ from one country to another.

According to Azam, there was no law in Malaysia governing funds received by politicians and political parties.

Therefore, he said, it was not a crime for politicians and political parties to accept any form of political financing and donations, adding that they could accept such donations from corporations or individuals, provided the money was not from unlawful sources.

“However, it becomes a crime if it can be proven that the fund given to the politician is for gratification,” he said.

He said MACC had received many complaints about political entities receiving funds in the form of bribes.

“We do investigate, but many cases end up with no prosecution. The complainants are disappointed, but what can we do as there is no specific law to classify it as bribery?” he said.