Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) President Muhammad Mohan lauds the statement from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki yesterday when he called upon companies to
"spend a fair amount of their annual budget for anti-corruption efforts", during his keynote speech at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Anti-Corruption and Transparency Experts’ Working Group virtual meeting on “Capacity Building Workshop on Exposing the Unseen Hands: Tackling Concealment of Beneficial Ownership”.
2020 has been a trying year with many people and businesses bearing the brunt of the pandemic-induced economic shut downs. The temptation to cut corners and resort to any means necessary to survive and win contracts soars higher during times like these.
However, TI-M appreciates that Datuk Seri Azam Baki rightfully went on to say, "a nation has to generate economic wealth in order to sustain itself and achieve greater heights in all aspects. However, if the scourge of corruption and abuse of power are
allowed to fester, the wealth generated will be corruptly siphoned off to only the selected few persons.”
In many parts of the economy and even the world, Anti-Corruption measures and 'Clean business' are viewed as first world luxuries which can only be afforded by big, lucrative and successful businesses. The Section 17A amendment to the MACC Act
2009 has made it a responsibility of all companies, big or small to put in place adequate measures to combat corruption, or risk criminal action against directors and managers if any employee is involved in corruption.
TI-M believes Datuk Seri Azam Baki's words are timely as they reflect the need to plug the holes that enable the powerful to abuse the situation and to ensure that the wealth generated by the economy is shared among the people and not among the
few.
Note to Editors: For clarification on any and all official statements from Transparency
International – Malaysia (TI-M), kindly refer to its President, Dr Muhammad Mohan
(mmohan@transparency.org.my)
