Low wages, poverty not cause of corruption - Azam

MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said poverty and low wages are not the top factors contributing to corruption.

Investigations mostly involved enforcement agencies and politicians, he told the New Straits Times in an interview.

“It is because of greed and opportunity. Politicians, for example, are they poor?

“What about ministers, ministry secretaries-general, and deputy secretaries-general?

“If I talk about (corruption in) the private sector, I can say... bankers... are they poor?” he asked.

Azam emphasised that corruption happens because of greed, opportunity, and issues with governance.

He recommended that the government continuously refine its processes and adopt best practices.

“If people think that it (corruption) happens because of low salaries, my recommendation to the government is to be careful about that.

“Don’t keep increasing salaries for nothing, thinking that will reduce corruption. Corruption is about greed, opportunity, the system, procedures and governance issues,” he said.

Undercover methods

The anti-graft agency chief also cited his trip to the New York Police Department in 2011 where he learnt that the agency used undercover methods to expose corrupt officers.

The Royal Malaysia Police’s Integrity and Standards Compliance Department could use similar methods, he said.

Azam also suggested that Customs Department director-general Anis Rizana Mohd Zainudin employ the MACC’s expertise.

“We have many undercover projects that we can share with her, and show how she can use these mechanisms and approaches in detecting corrupt law enforcement officers.

“There are many ways, but I must say that many heads of departments are not as proactive, and are very conventional in their approach,” he added.

Azam was commenting on the cases of immigration officers committing corruption.

On June 13, the MACC arrested 17 individuals, including 11 customs officers, in the “flying container” case during Ops Transit.

All those detained are suspected of colluding with an import smuggling syndicate at Port Klang, resulting in an estimated tax loss of approximately RM3.5 billion to the country.

An MACC source said the investigation thus far has succeeded in seizing RM4.4 million in cash, believed to have been obtained through bribery by the customs officers involved.

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