Nur Khairah Alegria Suner | May 14, 2017
Minister Paul Low questions authenticity and credibility of information provided by people about public officials, politicians having 'unusual' wealth.
PETALING JAYA: Having a “Kleptocrazy Malaysia” website raises the question of whether it is ethical to allow the public to be the judge of individuals whom they deem to corrupted.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Paul Low claimed that it might not be ethical to let the public post pictures of public officials and their families on the website in an effort to purge corruption.
“The whole website is like a court where it actually allows the public to be the judge regardless if it is true or not,” Low told FMT yesterday.
The website, which acts as a whistleblower, was launched yesterday by the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) and is meant as a platform to help the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to determine if certain individuals needed to be investigated for having “unusual wealth”.
The website allows people to post pictures of public officials and politicians who possess unexplained amount of wealth.
Low who is in charge of governance, integrity and human rights, also questioned the credibility and authenticity of the information on the proclaimed individuals.
“How can you ensure that the information provided by the public is authentic and does not have other ulterior motives?
“What if the person is innocent? How can the person defend themselves?” asked Low.
Meanwhile, Low suggested that the platform provide the information of the “accuser” instead of going for an anonymous informer.
The Kleptocrazy Malaysia website comes barely a month after C4 demanded the MACC Act be amended to strengthen the commission’s powers to investigate corrupt practices, especially possession of unusual or unexplained wealth.
The demand came following the arrest of PKR Youth leader Adam Rosly, after allegations of his “unusual wealth”, in April.
C4 executive director Cynthia Gabriel spoke during the launch and urged that the public should be part of the fight against corruption.
“We are sitting back and watching. Instead, we should be assisting the MACC in highlighting cases,” she told a crowd that included prominent activists, such as Marina Mahathir and the cartoonist popularly known as Zunar.
Also present were Selangor state speaker Hannah Yeoh and veteran journalist R Nadeswaran, who were also among the panellists at the forum.
According to Gabriel, the website will play a vital role, especially in keeping political leaders in check with the general election just around the corner.
However, she was quick to point out that the interactive platform was not to target any individual nor was there any personal vendetta attached to this initiative.
New C4 site lets public report politicians’ ‘unusual’ wealth
Sean Augustin | May 13, 2017
Anti-graft NGO launches 'Kleptocrazy Malaysia' website to allow public to post pictures of public officials and politicians who have unexplained wealth.
C4 executive director, Cynthia Gabriel said the site will allow people to post pictures of wealthy public officials and their families which will help the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) determine if these individuals needed to be investigated for having “unusual wealth”.
In unveiling the site, Gabriel noted that since Dzulkifli Ahmad was appointed as the MACC chief commissioner eight months ago, the anti-graft body has chalked up 24 cases, including several high-profiled ones such, as the Sabah Water Department case and the Johor land conversion scandal.
Unfortunately for Gabriel, the public is not part of this fight against corruption.
“We are sitting back and watching. Instead, we should be assisting them in highlighting cases,” she told a crowd that included prominent activists, such as Marina Mahathir and the cartoonist popularly known as Zunar.
Also present were Selangor state speaker Hannah Yeoh and veteran journalist R Nadeswaran, who were also among the panellist at the two-hour forum.
This is where “Kleptocrazy Malaysia” will play a vital role, especially in keeping political leaders in check with the general election just around the corner.
Gabriel, however, was quick to point out that the interactive platform was not to target personal individuals nor was there any personal vendetta attached to this initiative.
Rather it will be a crackdown on public officials and politicians with unexplained wealth.
“We want to go after those who live beyond their means. The main message here is that we are watching you.”
The launch of “Kleptocrazy Malaysia” comes barely a month after C4 demanded the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act be amended to strengthen the commission’s powers to investigate corrupt practices, especially possession of unusual or unexplained wealth.
The demand came following the arrest of PKR Youth leader Adam Rosly after allegations of his “unusual wealth” in April.
He has since been charged under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act for providing forged documents as valid documents and giving false evidence.
The launch also comes more than a month after Gabriel mooted an idea to get Malaysians to follow a “trail” of kleptocracy involving any political leader as a way to better scrutinise those holding power in government.
Those interested in reporting suspicious wealth can do so at Website for Kleptocrazyto report ill gotten wealth in Malaysia by politicans
PKR’s Adam Rosly remanded 5 days in ‘unusual wealth’ probe
No comments:
Post a Comment