Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Datuk Seri Abu Kassim Mohamed said today he would step down if any complaint made to the MACC, including against Cabinet ministers, went uninvestigated.
“If no investigation is carried out on any report, even against Cabinet ministers, I am willing to go down,” he said during a question-and-answer session on the final day today of the three-day Malaysian Law Conference here.
Abu Kassim (picture) said he was prepared to receive complaints from the public directly or through the MACC Complaints Committee headed by a former judge.
Up to 119 complaints were lodged with the committee last year alone, he said.
“We are not going to hide anything. If we are wrong, we are wrong, or if we are not good enough for the job, we will work hard to improve ourselves,” said Abu Kassim, who was appointed as the MACC chief commissioner in January this year.
He said that since the setting up of the MACC in January last year, about 10,000 people had been arrested, among them ministers, members of parliament and senior civil servants, irrespective of their political leaning.
The MACC also was involved in addressing money-politics cases in Umno, where 12 members were prosecuted, he said.
“MACC’s action had sparked a demonstration initiated by Umno Youth which alleged that we don’t have any business investigating the party’s money-politics,” said Abu Kassim, addressing some 300 lawyers at the conference.
He said one of the major challenges faced by the MACC currently was in changing the public perception of the commission that it only went after “the small fish rather than the big ones”.
“Generally, we are just an investigation agency and do not have the power of prosecuting the suspects involved in corrupt practices,” stressed Abu Kassim. He said the public expectation of the commission had been growing day by day, and he had been working hard to engage more with his officers in improving the public perception without compromising on the integrity of the commission.
Earlier in his speech, Abu Kassim said other than public perception, the MACC was facing challenges from the media which had been reporting on every move of the commission.
“It’s almost (like a) live telecast, where people start asking who will be the next to be arrested by the MACC; where it becomes so transparent ... which demands fairness to all those being investigated by us,” he said.
He also said that corruption was a crime most difficult to prove, as, sometimes, it involved the investigation of friends or relatives of the suspects.
Abu Kassim also shared his experience in handling illegal sand-mining activities in Perak, Selangor, Johor and Pahang, saying he personally briefed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on the seriousness of the problem and added that 49 people had been arrested.
When asked by reporters later whether he would push for the MACC to be given the power to prosecute, Abu Kassim said he was not complaining.
“I would rather not comment on this matter. I only want the public to understand that our job is only to carry out investigations, and that’s all,” he said.
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The only problem is not MACC is not empowered to bring charges to those that they investigated ,the power still lie with the AG . If the AG would not or unwilling to bring charges , no matter how many evidences you find will be to no avail . If it ever comes to that , I would suggest that Datuk Kassim brings it to the press .Not the usual press , but the more bipartisan publication like Malaysian Insider .
By the way , I m sure there are reports or complaints on Khir Toyo , and I certainly hope it is being look into . Hoping against hope it is not just another wild goose running amok .
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