The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) plans to reward civil servants who take action against bribe-givers.

Its chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed the government and MACC were drafting an appropriate method of reward in recognition of civil servants' efforts in combating corruption.

"We have held discussions with the Attorney-General's Chambers and other government agencies on the type of reward," he told reporters after closing a course entitled 'Corruption Prevention and Risk Management in Public Organisations' in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said the rewards would help raise awareness and educate government officers on the government and MACC's efforts in fighting corruption.

He said this was because enforcement agencies were not only most vulnerable to corruption but also made most bribery reports and took most actions.

Abu Kassim said 68 bribe givers and 80 civil servants, who took bribes, were arrested in the first quarter of this year.

This shows a campaign to change the public mindset is welcomed by government officers, he said, adding that, 108 bribe givers and 194 civil servants on the take were arrested last year.

"We are very proud of an indication of a change in the mindset and attitude in combating corruption as government officers are beginning to take action against bribe-givers," he said.

As MACC's role is not merely to conduct investigations but also to disseminate information and interact with the community, he said more non-Malays officers would be recruited.

He said an open interview would be held at Kuala Lumpur Chinese Assembly Hall from 10am to 5pm on Sunday to recruit 20 non-Malays investigating officers (P41) and 20 non-Malay assistant investigating officers (P29).

Priority will be given to applicants who are conversant in Mandarin or various Chinese dialects.

Thirty participants from Brunei, Fiji, Maldives, Jordan, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Yemen and Malaysia completed the five-course at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Academy in Kuala Lumpur.

- Bernama