Should the public smell something fishy in the two presidential resignations in six months at the Malaysia Institute of Integrity (IIM) - a cornerstone in the prime minister's campaign against corruption?

Not at all, says the deputy president of Malaysia Institute of Integrity (IIM) Mustafar Ali.

He was quick to rule out any sinister motives in the consecutive resignations of the institute's presidents in the span of six months.

Mustafar told malaysiakini that both the presidents resigned for valid reasons.

"Dr Sulaiman Mahbob ( right ), the first president of the institute has to resign the post because he was appointed by the prime minister to the Energy Ministry outfit at the Prime Minister's Department."

"Then, Dr Isahak Yeop Mohamad Shar ( left ) was appointed since April 17 this year but because of his commitment and wanted to concentrate on his family business, he decided to resign at the end of September," he said.

Isahak's resignation took effect from Oct 1 and Mustafar has been the acting head since.

On the right track

Despite the sudden changes of leadership, Mustafar said IIM was progressing well since it was set up two years ago.

"The progress of the task that the institute has to perform is going on the right track but there are still many thing to do."

"In brief, in the process of enculturation of integrity in the Malaysian society, the Malaysian citizen at large has to play their parts," he said.

He added that the institute will try their best and monitor the implementation of the National Integrity Plan (NIP) by various sectors.

IIM was the brainchild of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and aimed to facilitate the aims and objectives of the NIP.

It focuses its work in the public sector, the private sector, family sector and the community by:

  • conducting research related to the integrity of institutions and that of the community

  • organising conferences, seminar and forums

  • eliciting opinions from various sectors on the progress made or on the obstacles face in implementing integrity

  • publish and circulate printed material as well as formulating and implementing training and educational programmes

  • recommending new policies for the enhancement of integrity and ethics

  • developing databases on integrity and ethics

  • advising the government on strategies and programmes in enhancing integrity, and

  • establishing networking with international organisations.