KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 — The Special Committee on Corruption (JKMR) has said today it believes that an Anti-Corruption Court should be established in this country.
Its chairman Tan Sri Rais Yatim said this creation is specifically different from the Sessions Court, High Court, Court of Appeal and Federal Court.
“There are several recommendations in this aspect including actions to empower special corruption courts at all levels of judgment in the Sessions Court, High Court, District Court up to the Federal Court with judges specialising in corruption crimes not being replaced arbitrarily.
“This will give an atmosphere of determination, expertise, and precision to the court specifically regarding corruption,” he told reporters at the Parliament here.
Earlier, Rais handed over the 2020 Annual Report Book of the committee to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
The submission of the report book is in accordance with Section 14(5) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 which provides that JKMR must prepare and submit an annual report on the performance of the Special Committee's functions to the Prime Minister.
Rais, also the Dewan Negara Speaker, added that the proposed creation of this court is directly related to the country's 2021 Corruption Perception Index ranking, which continues to fall to 62.
“So this needs to be taken into account. We have submitted and this is one of the big challenges and got the government's attention,” he said.
He added that other issues raised by his side in relation to the submission of the report were that the procedure and guarantee for the storage of case items by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should be managed and stored by the Bank Negara.
“Or an accredited bank for the purpose of preventing case items from being lost or stolen,” he proposed.
Another issue is the non-uniformity of actions in the enforcement of actions in enforcing the use of orange clothing for those accused of corruption crimes. Some wear orange MACC lock-up shirts while others are allowed to dress smartly in coats and ties.
