The public must be included in corruption probes to make the process more effective, said the former head of the Hong Kong-Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Bertrand de Speville.

He said this could help solicit more information from the community pertaining to investigations and enhance the community's involvement in the anti-corruption drive.

Apart from this, he said authorities could also seek advice from the public on when an investigation should be concluded in order to avoid a backlog of cases.

He was responding to a question on how to make the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) more effective during a dinner talk at the Royal Selangor Club in Kuala Lumpur last night.

The talk was organised by anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International Malaysia.

Political will

In his speech earlier, de Speville listed out four important criteria in battling corruption. These, he said, were political will, a proper plan, resources and public support.

He also commended Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for displaying strong determination to weed out corruption, implementing the National Integrity Plan and setting up the National Integrity Institute.

"Given Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's political will, Malaysia should continue tackling corruption," he told the 30-odd audience, including foreign diplomats.

On public support, he said it was pertinent to change the attitude and mindset of the people towards corruption as well to get them involved in the process.

Relating his experience in Hong Kong, he said the ICAC obtained a 98 percent approval from the island's citizens.

"Initially people thought of the ICAC as an intervention into the ancient Chinese culture, but this is not true. It is an insult to say that corruption is part of an ethnic group's culture," he said.

The decision to form the ICAC came at the heels of a corruption scandal involving a senior police officer in the 1970s, which ignited a public outcry.

The officer, Peter Godber was alleged to have amassed assets through corrupt means totaling more than HK$4.3 million (equivalent to RM2.1 million today). However, he fled the country during the investigation.

De Speville also recalled a 'painful' period when the people of Hong Kong staged a massive demonstration in 1977 to protest ICAC's decision to grant amnesty to police personnel involved in corruption cases.

Prior to this, police personnel had also protested outside the ICAC office over the commission's stern action against their colleagues.

More transparent

Returning to Malaysia, de Speville said the ACA here was more transparent than its counterpart in Singapore as the former publishes a report annually.

He said while independence was not an absolute quality, the ACA however should be more answerable and accountable to the media.

Speaking later, TI Malaysia president Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim reiterated the need to enact a Freedom of Information Act.

"We do not believe the government can do its job effectively if everything is hidden behind the Official Secrets Act," he said.