SEBERANG PERAI, Dec 9 — The Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) has recorded a drop in corruption cases of more than 50 per cent after adopting a comprehensive anti-corruption action plan, said its mayor Datuk Rozali Mohamud.

He referred to statistics from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in which 48 cases in MBSP were reported in 2018 but dropped to 25 in 2019.

"For 2020, up to November, only a total 17 cases were reported,” he said in a statement today. 

He said MBSP had adopted a three-pronged action plan to combat corruption and attributed the drop in corruption cases to the success of the plan. 

Under the action plan, he said MBSP implemented an anti-corruption management system to reduce graft risks and was awarded the Anti-Corruption Management System ISO 37001:2016 by SIRIM QAS International Sdn Bhd on October 20 in 2017.

The city council had also prepared a five-year anti-corruption plan, the MBSP Anti-corruption plan 2021-2025 that was based on the national anti-corruption plan 2019. 

"The plan was launched on November 26 this year and the implementation of this five-year plan starting next year is significant to present a clean and corrupt-free local government,” he said.

Rozali said the plan laid out four main strategies to be implemented which is to improve competency in public service, increase efficiency and transparency in public procurement, strengthen the credibility of its enforcement team and ensure a better administrative system in MBSP.

"We hope that this plan will lead MBSP in overcoming any weaknesses in integrity and administration of MBSP,” he said.

He said MBSP employees have signed the pledge against graft in conjunction with the international anti-corruption day celebration 2020.

"MBSP staff have committed to protect the integrity of every service under MBSP, to report any offers of graft, not to process any false claims, not to misuse their positions, to give due recognition to those who report any instances of graft and to ensure promises are fulfilled,” he said.

He called on all MBSP workers to continue to maintain their integrity and work with the MACC to fight corruption.