Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's statement against corruption is only “lip service” - creating a ministerial post for integrity issues does not put in place policies to truly fight graft, said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

NONE“Changing personalities without transforming policies that can effectively combat corruption is akin to putting old wine in new bottles,” he said in a statement.

Instead, he urged Najib to adopt six measures which can quickly combat corruption:

- Undertake public declarations of assets by the prime minister, ministers, chief ministers and state executive councilors, vetted by an international accounting firm;

- Institute open competitive tenders;

- Bar family members of government leaders from involvement in government contracts;

- Protect genuine whistleblowers;

- Bring transparency into political donations; and

- Remove leaders with extravagant lifestyles.

Lim was commenting on Najib's statement in the US yesterday that he wants to make corruption “a thing of the past”.

NONENajib told his audience that he has appointed Paul Low (right), the former Transparency International-Malaysia president to cabinet to enable this, and elevated the MACC to an independent commission answerable to a parliamentary select committee on corruption.

However, Lim said this is not enough as the MACC does not enjoy public trust, following alleged inaction over high-profile cases involving BN leaders like Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

“The MACC can even refuse to act on money politics detected during the Umno elections because it regards such corruption as an internal matter and that Umno's disciplinary board should act against corruption instead of MACC,” he said.

“No wonder businessmen consider Malaysia the world champion in corruption for doing business.”

The MACC is believed to be still investigating Taib for alleged corruption, and has sought bipartisan support to amend its enabling Act to close loopholes in conflict-of-interest cases involving high-profile individuals.