Malaysia government does not protect anyone involved in corruption, says PM Ismail Sabri

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government does not protect any individuals involved in corruption and there is no selective prosecution of those accused of corruption, said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob in the Lower House on Tuesday (Mar 1).

He said no corrupt politician has been spared from the criminal justice system and any individuals involved in corruption, be it from the government or the opposition, will be brought to justice.

Mr Ismail Sabri was responding to opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who had asked on the seriousness of the government to ensure that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should act without hesitation against anyone.

“So, one cannot assume that today’s government is protecting certain individuals and taking action only against certain others to satisfy certain parties,” said Mr Ismail Sabri as quoted by Bernama.

“We don’t know if there was a (practice of) selective prosecution or not, but today, there is no selective prosecution. That’s our promise,” he added.

Mr Ismail Sabri said ongoing court cases involving elected representatives from both the government and the opposition are evidence of the government’s seriousness in taking action against those involved in corruption.

“When it comes to corruption we protect nobody. Whoever is accused of corruption the courts will decide on the right course of action,” said Mr Ismail Sabri, who is also MP for Bera, a constituency in Pahang.

Currently, former prime minister Najib Razak and former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi are facing various charges of corruption, abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering.

In his question, Mr Anwar, who is Port Dickson MP, also raised the issue of Malaysia’s ranking in the Global Corruption Index (CPI), which has dropped to 62 among 180 countries.

He wanted to know whether the drop reflected the government’s lackadaisical attitude towards tackling major corruption allegations.

“Perception of corruption is increasing because it appears that there is no political will to deal with it,” said Mr Anwar as quoted by Malay Mail.

MALAYSIA RANKED SECOND AMONG NINE ASEAN COUNTRIES: ISMAIL SABRI

Mr Ismail Sabri said the fact that Malaysia was prepared to be assessed and ranked in the CPI proved the country’s transparency and commitment to improving its governance.

He was quoted by Bernama as saying that the CPI ranking was done based on perceptions through studies by international institutions, and Malaysia’s CPI for 2021 was calculated based on nine out of 13 studies conducted by various international agencies.

He also said that the report showed that among the nine Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries, Malaysia ranked second best after Singapore.

According to Mr Ismail Sabri, his government remained committed to implementing the initiatives under the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) 2021.

However, improvement efforts are long-term efforts and the results will only be seen in the future, he added.