by Siti Rohaizah Zainal
SHAH ALAM, Oct 1 — Selangor cannot be described as a hub of corruption since the statistics reflect otherwise, said Selangor Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) director Datuk Alias Salim.
He said the statistics, from 2016 to August this year, indicated that only 267 of 2,616 civil servants arrested by MACC were in Selangor.
“Of the 267 arrested, one was from the top management, 77 individuals were from management and professionals, while 189 were from the rank-and-file.
“To me this means Selangor cannot be described as a hub of corruption since we have neighbouring states as well as the Klag Valley, which is a focus of investors,” Alias said during the live broadcast of the discussion “Is Selangor A Hub of Corruption?” yesterday night.
He also broke down the list of complaints by state, with the highest coming from Sabah with 306, followed by Selangor with 267, Perak with 265, Sarawak with 262, Pahang with 203, and Johor with 201.
“Every complaint received is not necessarily related to corruption, but may also include the administrative aspects of enforcement agencies who delay in conducting investigations of their own, and subsequently handed over to MACC.
“The number received indicates that societal awareness in reporting corruption activities, asides from prevention programmes carried out, has been met with much cooperation by the state government administration in ensuring civil servants have high integrity,” Alias said.
During the same programme, Selangor Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said the state has seen a drop in corruption-related arrests and charges over the past five years, adding this can be credited to a higher degree of awareness among the public.
