The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission cannot upgrade its technology or equipment for the next three years due to budget constraints, said chief commissioner Dzulkifli Ahmad.

"The budget for new equipment has been frozen for three years. This means we might be behind in terms of technology including for intelligence gathering…," he told Agenda Awani last night.

However, he said this was no reason for the commission not to continue fulfilling its obligations. Nevertheless, the budget freeze could put a constraint on MACC given the complicity of grand corruption.

"Technology is very important. Corruption today is not like corruption 10 years ago. It is more complex, more systematic, and it involves international networks and syndicates," he said.

He had earlier told Astro Awani's prime time news segment 'Hari Ini 8' that the MACC budget for this year was the lowest since 2013.

Dzulkifli, who was sworn in as the anti-graft body head last August, said MACC's hope was to turn the tide against corruption by making it a national agenda.

He said this included ensuring there were regular anti-corruption convictions and arrests to boost public confidence in the anti-graft body.

"We cannot do it alone. Fighting corruption is a task for the whole society.

"We have to have public confidence that we are taking action because this will translate into support, including in the form of information," he said.

'Let media operate independently'

He also supported more investigative journalism and urged that journalists be allowed to do so.

"I agree that the media needs to be more investigative and should be free to do so without untoward pressure. This will help the MACC do its job," he said.

He also urged NGOs and the public to come forward if they have information on ongoing corruption matters and to not fear reprisals. He assured that the MACC will protect whistleblowers using the Whistleblowers Act.

Dzulkifli earlier warned corrupt politicians that it will be just a matter of time before they would be brought to face justice.

He said there have been at least one MACC arrest or prosecution a week since the beginning of the year and this trend will continue throughout 2017.

He also vowed that Malaysia's ranking and score in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI) will improve in the next three years.

Malaysia slid one spot to share the 55th place with Croatia in the 2016 CPI.