PRESS STATEMENT
Tuesday, 12 November 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, Tuesday (12 November 2013) – For all Malaysians who have been talking about fighting corruption, here is the time to walk the talk!
Since 2012, Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) has been organising the Anti-Corruption Walk, in conjunction with the United Nations International Anti-Corruption Day. According to its organising chairman, Dr Muhammad Mohan, last year the event attracted 230 members of the public.
“However, this year, we will be organising it on a Saturday to attract more people,” he said. “An anti-corruption campaign cannot succeed without the support of the people. Families can consider coming with their children as well. They are the future generations of Malaysians, who will determine the direction that this country is heading towards.”
Themed, “A nation free of corruption begins with you”, the event this year will be held on December 7 (Saturday). “Participants will meet at the gathering point at Taman Rekreasi Bukit Jalil at 7.30am for registration and after taking a pledge of “Zero Corruption”, they will be flagged off for a 1.5 km walk,” he said.
“We hope that our fellow citizens will urge their Members of Parliament and State Assemblymen to join in the walk. In our fight against corruption, we need elected representatives from both sides of the political divide to join us,” he said. “When it comes to anti-corruption, politicians should be united and say, ‘No to corruptible practices’.”
The event is organised in collaboration with NKRA Against Corruption, a federal agency which monitors and coordinates the government’s anti-corruption initiatives. For more information, contact Transparency International Malaysia on tel: 03-79606630.
What TI Malaysia Hopes for?
TI-M calls for the Malaysian Government to take note of and implement the following recommendations immediately in order to eliminate corruption completely:
1. Pursue corruption cases of officials at the highest levels to restore public confidence in the government’s commitment in fighting corruption.
2. Review the Official Secrets Act and introduce a federal Freedom of Information Act to enhance transparency in public administration.
3. Grant more autonomy and independence to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and provide the necessary resources to enhance the professionalism of the anti-graft agency.
4. Review the Whistleblowers Protection Act to provide appropriate protection to genuine whistleblowers and increase public confidence in its protective framework
5. Review and apply stiffer penalties for corruption convictions
6. Implement reforms for political financing as proposed by TI-M in its memorandum to the government
7. Ensure full implementation of integrity pact system in all government procurement exercises
8. Abolish the use of direct negotiations and closed tenders in all Government procurement.
What the Rakyat can do.
TI-M would like all concerned Malaysians to:
1. Organise events to raise public awareness on the costs of corruption.
2. Demand that parliament and state assembly representatives sign TI-M’s election integrity pledge, and invite them to the Walk.
3. Educate the youth about ethics and ways to fight corruption.
4. Report all incidents of corruption to MACC.
5. Refuse to participate in any illegal and non-transparent activities.
6. Refuse to pay or accept bribes or facilitation fees.
7. Enforce zero-tolerance practices towards corruption.
END.
