Anti corruption policies under spotlight

Three years after being voted into office on an anti-corruption platform, the Malaysian Prime Minister has dismissed damaging allegations against two of the country's top anti-corruption officials.

Presenter - Linda LoPresti, Speaker - Dr Chandra Muzzafar, president, International Movement for a Just World - Radio Australia


MUZZAFAR: The prime minister has promised to allow for a full investigation. He has asked the police to probe both allegations thoroughly. He has said that he will act once the evidence is presented to him. If he fails to act in the face of incontrovertible evidence, then I think the public will begin to lose faith in his drive against corruption.

LOPRESTI: The Opposition has said that the two men involved should step down while that investigation begins. The head of the anti-corruption agency, Zulkifli Mat Noor, there are questions raised about the amount of wealth he has amassed in his tenure. Should he step aside? Should they both step aside? And if they don't doesn't that risk obstructing the investigation?

MUZZAFAR: I don't know whether they're being in their present positions would obstruct investigation. It all depends upon the police and the attorney-general's chambers. If these two institutions are thorough, if they're honest at their work, they should be able to get to the truth. But on the other hand, I think as a matter of principle, the two of them should step down.

LOPRESTI: The prime minister won though a landslide victory in 2004 on an anti-corruption platform. Yet there have been numerous complaints of official corruption since then. Do you believe he's failed?

MUZZAFAR: Well, I don't think it would fair to come to that conclusion.

One of the reasons why there is much more talk about corruption is because he has, I think, created more space for public debate and discussion. Under his predecessor, there were I think serious cases of corruption, but there wasn't much public debate. If you look at the chief of anti-corruption agency, he was appointed when Dr Mahathir was prime minister. And if one is going to fault anyone, one has to I think fault the previous prime minister for not doing a thorough check on the background of this particular appointee. It's a very important position that he was appointed to, the chief of the anti-corruption agency. Something may have gone wrong, if the allegations are true and I want to emphasis that. If the allegations are true, something would have gone wrong with the process of vetting and the person who'd responsible for that would be the previous prime minister.

And if you look at so many of the other cases that have confronted us in the last four years, they have their roots in the previous period, meaning by which when Dr Mahathir ruled the roost and what we are seeing now is the result of the opening up of democratic space is the articulation of public grievances, of concealed acts of corruption, abuse of public office and so on. This I think is good for the country that wrongdoings are coming to the surface. But after they have surfaced, you have to act and this is where I think the real challenge is. Whether Abdullah, the prime minister, would be able to respond to the challenge, whether he'd be able to meet the expectations of the people, the jury is out.

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