GEORGE TOWN, March 9 — Putrajaya should emulate China by pursuing both senior and junior officials for corruption if it is to make any headway in its war on graft, said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

According to Lim, the Barisan Nasional administration’s pledge to combat corruption will be nothing more than a “sandiwara” (theatre) unless it is willing to pursue graft at every level where it is found.

“By adopting a hypocritical and ostrich in the sand approach will not make corruption go away. A concerted and cohesive campaign must be made to fight corruption all the way to the top as is now presently carried out in China,” Lim said in a statement today.

China President Xi Jinping has vowed to go after powerful “tigers” and well as lowly “flies” in his country’s battle against corruption, over concerns the insidious problem could affect his party’s ability to stay in power.

Xi launched a serious effort to clean up the Communist Party where some 180,000 party officials have been disciplined including high-level officials such as the recent investigation on Ling Jihua, who has served as the equivalent of chief of staff to former Chinese President Hu Jintao.

China also imposes the death penalty for cases of grand corruption, although this is often commuted to life imprisonment.

Lim, who is also Penang chief minister, said the BN could demonstrate its appetite to investigate corruption by beginning the with 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

“The 1MDB scandal will be a good starting point to cleanse Malaysia and begin our path towards integrity,” he said.

He also mocked BN lawmakers for their continued refusal to publicly declare their assets, saying that members of his administration and Pakatan Rakyat elected representatives in the state were required to do so.

“Sadly BN wakil rakyats only talk about fighting corruption without practicing what they preach,” he added.

On March 6, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak ordered the Auditor-General to conduct an independent check on 1MDB’s accounts and prepare a report for the Public Accounts Committee to further examine.

The state-owned firm has also said that it will comply with the audit.

1MDB came under criticism after a British paper, The Sunday Times in collaboration with whistleblower site Sarawak Report, ran an exposé last Sunday claiming of impropriety in 1MDB’s venture with oil exploration and production firm PetroSaudi International.