GEORGE TOWN, Nov 25 — Nearly half of the arrests by the Malaysian Anti- Corruption Commission (MACC) in Penang this year were of high-ranking civil servants, its state director disclosed today.
Datuk Samarajoo Manikam revealed a total 29 arrests were made in the northern state as at November 22.
“Of these, 14 are civil servants in the management level and most of them are from federal government agencies,” he said in a press conference after the signing ceremony of an integrity pledge by JKP Sdn Bhd.
The civil servants were arrested mainly for alleged abuse of power as most of them are in the management level and not lower ranking officers, he added.
So far, of the 29 arrested, 25 have already been charged with corruption in court.
While the anti-graft body continues to receive the same number of complaints and information from the public this year as compared to last year, Samarajoo said the number of arrests have been cut by nearly half compared to 2011.
“Last year, between January and December, we have 50 arrests so the fewer arrests this year could be due to a higher awareness amongst the public against corrupt practices,” he said.
Earlier, during a brief dialogue session on the integrity pledge, MACC inspection and consultancy division director Datuk Mohamad Yusoff Akope said about 300 companies in Malaysia have signed the pledge since 2010.
“Companies found to be involved in corrupt practices can be blacklisted and suspended,” he said, adding that more companies are taking the step to sign the integrity pledge.
JKP Sdn Bhd is the second company in Penang to sign the integrity pledge after Jambatan Kedua Sdn Bhd.
To date, Mohamad Yusoff said only one company has been suspended for involvement in corrupt practices.
“The company was found to be involved in corrupt practices where the company had given bribes to civil servants,” he said.
