MACC says opened 776 investigation papers, 869 arrested so far this year

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki reportedly said that the graftbusters have recorded an encouraging performance with proactive actions as 776 investigation papers were opened and 869 arrests were made between January and August this year.

Azam Baki said 326 charges for various offences were also brought to court, Berita Harian reported.

“The asset forfeiture and recovery statistics show a very excellent record this year with the value of property forfeiture amounting to RM12,891,268.66 and compound amounting to RM4,003,000.

“If calculated from 2018 to now, the total amount of property forfeitures and penalties recorded by the MACC amounted to more than RM29 billion,” he was quoted as saying.

Azam Baki reportedly said this in his speech at the MACC’s 56th Anniversary Celebration Ceremony yesterday.

He said MACC's strategy is to reduce leakages in three sectors of corruption, namely in enforcement, procurement and “grand corruption”.

He explained that the change in the investigation method to “intelligence-based investigation” has yielded results that are no longer based solely on reactive methods.

“Changes in the political, economic and socio-cultural landscape of the community should be the concern of MACC members, and they should not be held back by bragging that we are 'the best' or that our methods do not need to change.

“The old people can't say the old ways are effective, and the new people need to learn from the old people, and venture into change,” he was quoted as saying.

In an effort to combat leakages, Azam said MACC will focus on large-scale cases of public interest.

He said that criminals who steal or vanish the government revenue, including those who abuse power, must be punished so that national properties can be salvaged.

“Accordingly, the investigation method in the form of 'financial crime' needs to be intensified and MACC officers need to understand criminal law and more systematic investigation methods.

“To that end, I have ordered that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Academy, the Investigation Division and the Anti-Money Laundering Division join hands to train MACC officers with these new rules, without ignoring the old rules that are still relevant," he was quoted as saying.