Gerakan agrees with the recommendation made by the Special Committee on Corruption’s (SCC) that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should be answerable only to the Parliament instead of Prime Minister’s Department.

Gerakan Vice President Dato’ Mah Siew Keong today supported the recommendation and said that the purpose of having an Anti-Corruption Commission is to check and prosecute corruption in both government and private sectors, and it is only logical that the commission should be separated from the government in order to ensure the independence of the commission.

“It should not be under any department at all, it should be solely independent on its own without being linked to any governmental department. Any doubt on the conflict of interest of MACC is sufficient to put the credibility of the commission in question, what more the outcome of any investigation,” said Dato’ Mah.

“Public perception is very important to ensure effectiveness of MACC and as sure it not only be independent but must be perceived to be independent”

Dato’ Mah urged the government to look into the issue of MACC’s independence closely as the commission is one of the most important tools to battle corruption in the country. If the MACC is unable to function at its best, it would be a major pullback in the effort to battle corruption. Being well informed that one of the factors which frustrates the people the most is the issue of corruption in the public sector, it is only prudent that the government be more vigorous in doing the best it can to ensure the MACC is able to function well to show its’ sincerity to reduce corruption as pledged by the BN government.