PM pushing forward with anti-corruption Bill

DEC 5 — On Wednesday morning, just before the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MCAC) Bill is tabled in Parliament, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will meet Barisan Nasional lawmakers and move to kill off any attempt to oppose the legislation.

The Malaysian Insider understands that the Prime Minister will outline the main features of the commission and assure the MPs that there will be enough safeguards in the proposed commission to protect both parties — those who lodge reports and the accused.

There has been some restlessness among some BN MPs over the setting up of a commission which will have more autonomy and bite to tackle corruption in the country. They worry that there could be an explosion of reports and false allegations against politicians by members of the Opposition.

Some of them are also wondering if it is fair to saddle Prime Minister-in-waiting Datuk Seri Najib Razak with a body spawned from Abdullah's reform agenda. They were also upset that the Parliament session was lengthened until Dec 18 to debate the MCAC Bill.

It is unclear if the unease by some of the BN MPs would result in them voting against the MCAC Bill or is it a case of sabre-rattling. Still, Abdullah is not taking any chances. Senior Anti-Corruption Agency officials have been briefing editors of the mainstream media on the main features of the commission. The PM also gave an exclusive interview to an English-language daily to update Malaysians on the progress of his reform agenda.

Sources said that there will be several oversight mechanisms under the MCAC. One will be an advisory board, comprising eminent Malaysians. It will function like a board of directors in a corporate set-up. There will also be a committee which draws its members from both Houses of

Parliament; a committee which will hear complaints from those who lodge reports and those who are the target of corruption investigations.

A government official told The Malaysian Insider: 'This mechanism was insisted on by the Cabinet. It wants to make sure that there is transparency for all parties. Those who lodge reports now will be able to know the status of the case while those who believe that they are being vicitimised have recourse now.''

The proposed Commission will also not be allowed to sit on cases indefinitely. The oversight committees have powers to set a time frame for investigations to be completed. One of the complaints against the existing Anti-Corruption Agency is that nothing is heard of for years after the initial blaze of publicity. This situation has led to accusations of cover-ups by the government or incompetency by the ACA.

Under the MCAC Bill, the Commission will have to put forward its report to Parliament annually. As such, the cloak of secrecy which has enveloped all corruption investigations for decades will be lifted, slightly. Not everyone is comfortable with this prospect. - The Malaysian Insider

Probe into Vote-buying in Sarawak

(New Straits Times Online)

KUCHING: The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) is investigating alleged corrupt practices and vote-buying in the Layar and Krian constituencies in last May's state elections.

The probe is understood to have started in July, almost a year after defeated candidates Dayrell Walter Entrie and his father, Stanley Jugol, lodged reports with the ACA.

Besides the reports lodged on Oct 12 last year, they also handed over video and tape recordings of the alleged corrupt practices and vote buying to the ACA office here and its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

ACA officials from Kuala Lumpur are conducting the probe.

Entrie and Jugol lodged the reports after the Election Court struck off their applications to nullify the election of Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang in Layar and Assistant Minister of Modernisation of Agriculture Datuk Peter Nyarok in Krian on grounds of corrupt practices and vote-buying.

The applications were struck off on technical grounds at the preliminary stage of the hearing of the petitions.

Entrie, the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) Youth chief, lost to Jabu in Layar, while Jugol, the party secretary-general, was defeated by Nyarok in Krian.

It is believed that ACA officials had gone to the constituencies to interview witnesses and collect evidence.

Entrie, when contacted yesterday, said he knew that ACA investigations into the matter were underway.

"My polling agent and the people from Semomok and Nanga Padih longhouses have had their statements recorded by the ACA," he said.

In his report, Entrie alleged that government grants were distributed to people in Semomok and Nanga Padih through their Village Security and Development Committees during campaigning or elections.

In the three-way fight for the Layar seat, Entrie polled 1,090 votes while Jabu, Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) deputy president, garnered 3,767 votes. The third candidate, businessman Peter John Jaban, who stood as an independent, polled 105 votes. Meanwhile, Jugol, in his report, alleged that 153 longhouses and two schools in Krian were given money for government projects worth about RM450,000 during the campaign period in the state elections.

He alleged headmen of longhouses received letters informing them of the government grants and urging them to vote for Barisan Nasional.

Apart from lodging a report with the ACA, he also lodged reports with the police on June 13 and 18 last year, claiming that offences had been committed under the Election Offences Act 1954.Nyarok obtained 4,784 votes compared with 2,689 secured by Jugol.

It is learnt that a number of headmen had their statements recorded by the ACA in connection with the report lodged by Jugol.

Nyarok, Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) deputy president, when contacted, denied that he had been approached by the ACA to have his statement recorded.

"I do not know anything about the ACA investigations."