Two non-governmental organisations today blasted a comment made by Khairy Jamaluddin - the prime minister's son-in-law - who said that those involved in corrupt practices prior to last year's general election will not be prosecuted.

Khairy, Umno Youth deputy chief, told the International Herald Tribune (IHT) that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi 'did not want to dig up the past and will not focus on retroactive actions but rather look forward'.

Commenting on the statement, Transparency International president Param Cumaraswamy said the comment "goes against the earlier promises made by the prime minister (and) what was promised in the Barisan Nasional manifesto at the last general election".

"The statement also implies that the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and the Attorney General's Office are not independent agencies in the investigation and prosecution of bribery and corruption offences," said Param in an e-mail response to malaysiakini .

He added that Khairy's comments implied that these agencies are dependent on government instructions as to who should be investigated and prosecuted.

Inherited a legacy

"It is important to investigate past scandals involving leaders thoroughly, independently and, where there is evidence, prosecute. The prime minister has inherited a legacy in the fight against corruption.

"Many who were part of that legacy and whose conduct were subject of suspicions and rumours are still in power," said Param.

"Even if the bureaucratic system is thoroughly overhauled and delivery systems improved, so long as leaders tainted with malpractice in the past legacy remain at the top, the political will to genuinely combat corruption will continue to be questioned," he added.

Param submitted that the public has a right to know what has really happened in the fight against corruption and its previous investigations.

"That is what transparency and accountability is all about," added the former UN special rapporteur for the independence of judiciary and judges.

His comments were echoed by N Marimuthu, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) president.

"It doesn't matter if a corrupt practice happened yesterday, today or tomorrow. It must be investigated and addressed and action must taken," Marimuthu said when contacted.

He gave an example where if a housing project is now found to be rife with irregularities and an investigation reveals that the deals prior to the project were made in compromising circumstances, which amounted to corruption, parties to the 'retro-action' cannot be allowed impunity.

"One of the things the prime minister pledged during the last elections was to 'clean' things up. The main agenda he wrote up was to fight corruption. Therefore there must be consistency in his actions," he told malaysiakini .

More has to be done

Both Param and Marimuthu acknowledged that the premier's crackdown on corrupt parties has so far been insufficient.

"There have been some positive developments during his tenure but in regards to corruption only a handful of individuals - only 'small fries'- have been reprimanded. There is much more that needs to be done," said Marimuthu.

The 'small fries' or insignificant persons Marimuthu referred to were former land and cooperative development minister Kasitah Gaddam and former Perwaja chief Eric Chia . Both are currently on trial for corrupt practices.

Marimuthu also said that since the prime minister took it upon himself to pledge the fight against corruption, he must now decide if he wants to stick to what he said and fulfill his promises.

Param added that if steps like making the ACA independent, enacting a right to information legislation, amending the Official Secrets Act and relaxing the control on press freedom, were taken, the premier would build the citizens' confidence in his fight against graft.

Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, in a reply to questions posed by the opposition over the comment, said in Parliament that "people should not panic after reading the (IHT) report as Khairy is not a member of the Cabinet".

Khairy later clarified that he never used the word 'immunity' during the interview with IHT