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The Star - March 21, 2008
Boost existing systems to fight
corruption, says Transparency International chief
PETALING JAYA: Transparency
International Malaysia is encouraged that the Prime
Minister is serious about waging war against corruption
but built-in systems against corruption have to be
beefed up to ensure public confidence.
President Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam said that while Datuk
Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s instruction to Cabinet
members to declare their assets is a big step forward,
for it to be effective, several additional steps must be
taken.
“The Cabinet members should not only declare their
assets but also liabilities and indicate their net
worth.
“This must apply to their wives and immediate family
members, as well,” he said.
Moreover, instead of declaring the assets and
liabilities twice in five years, they should declare
them every year because it might be too late for any
action to be taken at the end of two-and-a-half years,
he said.
Such standards should also apply to all MPs, state
assemblymen and local authorities and the Opposition
states should also follow suit, he said.
“Preferably, the records should be scrutinised by an
independent commission set up by the Government. This
will give confidence to the people,” he said.
The commission could be in the form of an ombudsman, he
said.
“The public too must play a role in helping the
Government fight corruption by reporting the crime, just
as one reports robbery, murder and rape,” he said.
While the latter crimes affected individuals, corruption
affected the whole society, he said.
“The Anti-Corruption Agency must also be an independent
agency. Otherwise, the fight against corruption will not
be taken seriously,” he said.
On Wednesday, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had
called on those in his new Cabinet to stay away from
corruption.
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