PUTRAJAYA, July 22 — Putrajaya has set up internal committees within ministries and state governments as part of efforts to fight corruption, Datuk Paul Low, minister within the Prime Minister’s department said today.
The committees, called Governance and Integrity Committees or its Malay language acronym Jitu, will be headed by the respective ministers and state government leaders, with Low himself taking the role of co-chair.
“We hope to see less leakages, less wastages and less solicitation of bribes,” Low told reporters.
Certified integrity officers (CIO) within government ministries, departments and major agencies will play a key role in the new setup.
He said there are currently more than 180 such officers whose job is to investigate complaints of corruption and improve procedures to avoid graft.
“Their role is not just enforcement, but also to champion instituting changes,” said Low.
He added that the chief CIO is from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and that they will report to the anti-graft body.
The minister added that internal auditors within government ministries now will report to the Auditor-General, instead of to the secretary-general in the ministry.
