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Monday July 23, 2012

‘Start anti-corruption awareness at pre-school level’


KUALA LUMPUR: The fight against corruption needs to begin as early as pre-school if the longstanding problem of bribery is to be nipped in the bud, said Performance Manage­­ment and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) Anti-Corruption NKRA director D. Ravindran.

Ravindran said a joint study conducted by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in 2007 on 1,800 university students, who are now working in middle management positions, indicated that almost half (48.9%) believe that it is all right to accept gifts from people who apply for tenders and contracts.

On political financing, Ravindran said Pemandu wanted political parties to voluntarily self-regulate before laws are amended to ensure proper management of political donations and contributions.

He said it was best if political parties could display their finances online to show full transparency.

He added that political parties should have proper records of donations, which must go straight into the party’s account and proper audit trail, and receipts.

On the MACC, Ravindran said it was reviewing the need to change the commission’s operation practices for the better and help it improve its conviction rates.

He said there were five oversight committees that act as a check and balance mechanism for the MACC.

He said it was important to emphasise to the public that the MACC was totally independent.

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