KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 ― Putrajaya must display stronger political will and enforce additional laws to combat corruption, particularly in the civil service, said a committee overseeing national graftbusters today.

The Operational Evaluation Panel that supervises the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said disciplinary action now imposed on civil servants involved in cases of misconduct was insufficient to deter future or repeat offenders.

“We have informed the Chief Secretary to the Government (Tan Sri Ali Hamsa) that the penalties do not commensurate with the commitment pledged,” panel chairman Tan Sri Dr Hadenan Abdul Jalil said.

Hadenan said that in line with the concerns raised, he welcomed the proposal by the MACC for a new law on public office misconduct to punish civil servants responsible for causing losses to the country.

Hadenan said that this was needed as not all cases of financial wastage identified by the Auditor General's Department involved corruption.

“Many others also stem from the weakness of public servants in carrying out their duties,” he added.

Hadenan said that the proposal for the law, which is still being discussed with the Attorney-General’s Chamber and the relevant agencies, must be hastened to avoid more wastage.

The proposed law is similar to the existing Corporate Liability Act, which makes companies liable to be charged with corruption committed by their staff, and was first proposed by MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed two years ago.

Hadenan said that although there has been no new update on its progress, the law would be a good move to address corruption at all levels of the civil service and reduce the burden on MACC officers who are often “overworked”.

“It is not fair to shift the blame onto them… they are all really overworked,” he said adding that MACC’s image has also improved significantly thanks to several reform initiatives, particularly in relation to its investigation methods.

“The commitment of people in MACC cannot be questioned. People have always accused MACC of being selective on who the agency investigates, but that is not the case anymore,” he said.

The increase in the number of cases handled by the MACC over the last six years is also a sign of growing public trust in the agency, he said.

Hadenan added, however, it is the Public Service Department’s (PSD) lackadaisical attitude in terms of enforcing strict punishments that allows cases of corruption and other forms of misconduct in the civil service to continue.

“Statistics by the MACC and PSD’s own analysis reveals that cases which were referred back from MACC to the department always end with the decision to merely let the perpetrator walk away with an administrative warning.

“Actions such as these do not mirror our sternness to combat corruption effectively.”

Statistics provided by the panel showed that between 2012 and 2014, government agencies took action on 688 MACC reports involving civil servants.

Of this number, 228 were warnings, 69 were punished, 16 were stripped off their emolument rights, 36 had their salary flow stalled, 31 had their pay reduced, seven were demoted, 25 were sacked, 49 were freed of any action and 227 fell under various other categories of disciplinary actions.

“The panel recommends that the Federal Government act more sternly and not compromise in issues of leakages,” Hadenan added.