NOVEMBER 28 — Section 424 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Singapore places a duty on every person to report the commission or the intention of any other person to commit certain offences under the Republic’s Penal Code, including several Penal Code offences relating to the corruption of public servants.

However, the duty to report does not include the anti-bribery and anti-corruption provisions outside the Penal Code – for examples, Sections 5 and 6 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA)

Singapore is well-known for its tough stance against corruption. It ranks third in the world for the least corrupt country with a score of 84 out of 100, according to the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

The PCA is the primary anti-corruption legislation in Singapore. The PCA provides the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) extensive powers to investigate corruption. The key provisions which create the offence of corruption are found in Sections 5 and 6 of the PCA, which provide for the offences of corruptly receiving and giving gratification by a person and an agent.

The PCA, however, does not criminalise a person’s failure to disclose violations of anti-bribery and anti-corruption provisions to the CPIB save that Section 27 of the PCA places a legal obligation on any individual or company required by the CPIB to give information on any subject of inquiry by the CPIB.

The equivalent of Section 424 of the CPC in Malaysia is Section 13(1)(a) of the country’s own CPC. The equivalent of the PCA in Malaysia is the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 (MACC Act).

Unlike the PCA, the MACC Act imposes a duty to report bribery transactions to the MACC and criminalises failure to report such transactions. Section 25 says as follows:

1. Any person to whom any gratification is given, promised, or offered, in contravention of any provision of this Act shall report such gift, promise or offer together with the name, if known, of the person who gave, promised or offered such gratification to him to the nearest officer of the Commission or police officer.
2. Any person who fails to comply with subsection (1) commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or to both.
3. Any person from whom any gratification has been solicited or obtained, or an attempt has been made to obtain such gratification, in contravention of any provision of this Act shall at the earliest opportunity thereafter report such soliciting or obtaining of, or attempt to obtain, the gratification together with the full and true description and if known, the name of the person who solicited, or obtained, or attempted to obtain, the gratification from him to the nearest officer of the Commission or police officer.
4. Any person who fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with subsection (3) commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.

In short, it is an offence in Malaysia not to report bribery transactions to the MACC.

There is legal duty to report bribery transactions to the MACC. Tell this to the man in the mirror. It must start with him.

As the chorus in Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror goes:

I’m starting with the man in the mirror

I’m asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If you wanna make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself and then make a change

So yeah, if you want to make Malaysia a better place, start with the man in the mirror.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.