By Lalitha Kunaratnam

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--Corruption in Malaysia is at a worrying level although the situation has yet to become a pandemic, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki said during an interview with TVAlhijrah on April 14.

He was responding to a question on whether the increasing number of detentions and exposes indicated the severity of the corruption situation.

There are, however, many who do not share his views and the recent scandal involving his officers lends credence to the commission's detractors.

One of his three officers nabbed in connection with the alleged theft of case materials amounting to more than RM25 million, purportedly owned luxury cars, several high-powered motorcycles and lived in a luxury home.

It was also reported that MACC is checking the records of cash and assets belonging to said officers.

In most cases, asset declaration would have assisted enforcement agencies in detecting and prosecuting those public officials who have obtained wealth by misusing their position and power.

The detection and investigation can lead to uncovering bribery and other forms of corruption such as nepotism, extortion, conflicts of interest, and undue advantage.

Asset declaration in Malaysia is a pre-condition for confirmation and promotion of all public officials. 
 
Public officials need to declare both movable properties such as money in bank accounts, motor vehicles, jewelleries, firearms, shares, stocks, bonds and securities as well as immovable properties such as land, landed properties and businesses owned by families.

However, another equally important function, which has always been overlooked, is the verification of the completeness and accuracy of the statements submitted by the public officials.

The primary reason for this asset declaration is not so much achievement of the purposes of the system per se but instead the maintenance of the declarations system’s integrity.

If public officials feel that the data stated in their declarations will most likely never be verified, there is a risk that the system will accumulate a large amount of useless “information” with little connection to reality.

Hence, a complete overhaul of the Asset Declaration System would be the first of many necessary steps.

The recent MACC scandal is just the tip of a vast iceberg that threatens to sink Malaysia’s anti-corruption efforts and currently allows the country's rotten apples to act with impunity.
 
*Lalitha Kunaratnam is an anti-corruption activist who believes policymakers need to step up their game and make plans for serious reforms*