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The MACC Advisory Board in one of its rare public announcements, has advised the government, to give it a copy of the asset declarations, that is now made by members of the federal administration, including cabinet ministers, to the prime minister.

Furthermore the MACC has suggested that the asset declarations should include those assets of their spouses and children.

The Chairman of the MACC, Zaitun Zawiyah Puteh and its members, must be congratulated for this initial initiative.

However this proposal could be improved considerably, if it considers the following matters:

Firstly the asset declarations should also include their liabilities as well for sure, as liabilities could also be accumulated through corrupt practices.

Secondly, merely sending copies of the declaration of assets and lIabilities to the MACC just to be 'kept', will be of little significance.

The MACC must be made responsible to study and monitor major changes in the declaration and to independently investigate any suspicious changes in assets and liabilities of members of the administration.

Thirdly, it would be more effective if an independent task force, as proposed by Chief Justice Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria, instead of the MACC itself, could be appointed to study the asset declarations?

Even better still, why not get the parliamentary Public Account Committee which has opposition members, or a judicial commission to review and require the MACC to investigate unusual changes in the declaration of assets/liabilities?

Fourthly, the MACC Advisory Board should insist that all members of state legislative assemblies and local authority councils should also be subject to the same requirements of scrutiny of their assets and liabilities?

Fifthly, the MACC should recommend that tighter controls be imposed on political parties in the forthcoming elections.

Money politics is the mother of corruption and yet so little has been done to reduce grand corruption in this field.

Unless the MACC comes out strongly against money politics, all its initiatives to fight corruption could come to naught.

The public perception will then believe that there is insufficient political will on all sides, to seriously stamp out corruption. Then the Transparency International corruption perception index will continue to deteriorate.

This will consequentially cause great harm to public and investor confidence in the future direction and outlook of our nation.

We must all therefore firmly resolve and act with stronger determination, to combat the cancer of corruption in our country with greater urgency before it is too late!


Ramon Navaratnam is chairman, Asli Center of Public Policy Studies.

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