Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, whose administration has been continually under fire for allegedly abusing public institutions to attack political rivals, today called on all quarters not to use the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for political expediency.

Using baseless corruption allegation to launch character assassination against an innocent person is a major crime equal to a corruption offence, he stressed.

“Whoever is involved in corruption and is proven guilty should be punished. It’s as simple as that.

“Therefore let us not use corruption as a weapon to bring someone down. If corruption is politicised, and if MACC’s action is politicised, it will result in serious and bad consequences.

“The enforcement agency will become weak as a result of pressure from those who politicise the issue of corruption. Let us not drag MACC into the political cauldron. This agency is not a political party,” said Najib while officially opening the Certified Integrity Officer Programme at Putrajaya today.

He reiterated that the current MACC, overseen by five advisory boards comprising of prominent and independent individuals from various fields, is a “genuinely free” commission which takes action based on laws and enjoys a free hand in exercising its responsibilities.

“MACC acts without fear or favour, without any disturbance from anyone. None can order the MACC chief commissioner to investigate or halt investigation on any individual.

“MACC is free to investigate without any form of intervention or hindrance from anyone. Hence the allegations that said MACC is subservient to the government is not true at all,” Najib told the floor, with MACC chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed present with him on stage.

“What is important is that we should combat corruption and not the agency that combats corruption,” said the premier.

Najib further declared that corruption is the nation’s number one enemy, and the battle against corruption is a holy war (jihad).

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