Malaysia: Watchdog panels to monitor anti-graft body

Malaysia has placed its anti-graft government body under the supervision of five independent panels to ensure its transparency and prevent intervention into its activities by other parties, local media reported Friday.

Azam Baki, head of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), said one of the panels would advise the agency on policies and procedures, while a second would monitor cases and provide its opinion on whether to close or re-evaluate cases, according to the Bernama news agency.

Baki said the third panel would advise on training and graft prevention activities and a fourth would be responsible for monitoring misconduct by the commission officials.

"MACC accepts any complaints involving the misconduct of our officers, and we will investigate," he was quoted as saying.

The Special Committee on Corruption, the final panel, will oversee the MACC's annual performance and present it to the prime minister, he added.

Azam said the independent panels, whose members would not be government officials, could be classified as a watchdog or representatives of the people against any misconduct by the commission.

He said the public wanted the commission to serve efficiently and professionally, as well as to be fair in handling cases involving corruption and power abuse.

"I'm not saying that we are perfect in carrying out our job, but MACC will do its best to resolve any issues raised by the people, like in the case of river pollution and land encroachment," he added.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission was established in 1967 and was initially known as the Anti-Corruption Agency before becoming an independent commission in 2009.

*Writing by Rhany Chairunissa Rufinaldo from Anadolu Agency's Indonesian language services in Jakarta.