Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) views positively the increase in graft sentence for a case in Kota Kinabalu as reported in yesterday’s Star newspaper (Nation p15). The ruling judge Justice Datuk David Wong Dak Wah was quoted as saying that “the country could not tolerate corruption that affected economic efficiency”. He further added that “The court must also send a message to society that this country does not accept corruption a part of daily life”.
TI-M has been calling for sterner penalties to be imposed on those convicted of corruption to send a clear message that corruption does not pay. It has been shown that heavier sentences handed impartially can be a strong deterrent against committing the crime. The action of the learned judge is a step in the right direction. TI-M calls on the Attorney General and Malaysian Judiciary to be more consistent when calling for and imposing future sentences.
To quote Justice Wong, “If you do the crime, you do the time”.
Issued by
Datuk Paul Low,
President, Transparency International Malaysia
