KUALA LUMPUR: The Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) has urged the government to establish special anti-corruption courts and to fast-track corruption trials.
C4 also called on the government to implement anti-corruption reforms and the establishment of independent institutions, as outlined in the National Anti-Corruption Plan.
These reforms, it said, include enacting a Procurement Act, introducing a stronger Whistleblower Protection Act, and setting up a Parliamentary Ombudsman.
Judges presiding over complex corruption cases, it added, should also be provided special training.
“C4 commends the judiciary over the bold decisions to convict former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and asserting that corruption is a heinous crime and for holding power to account.
“The recent rulings by the judiciary over powerful personalities in high-profile cases and related scandals send a strong message on the need to reform a rotten system and also signals the coming of a zero-tolerance attitude towards corruption that the institutions of many other nations have adopted.
“All institutions must act in tandem in order to stamp out the ever-growing weeds of corruption from taking root,” it said in a statement today.
C4 also urged the government to make procurements and the private contracting of large projects to be done transparently.
Proper mechanisms, such as an open tender, could reduce the risk of corruption, it said.
On Aug 23, the Federal Court rejected Najib’s final appeal to overturn the 12-year jail sentence and RM210 million fine for the misappropriation of SRC International funds. He is currently serving his jail term in Kajang Prison.
Nine days later, the Kuala Lumpur High Court sentenced his wife, Rosmah to 10 years’ jail and a fine of RM970 million for corruption charges involving a RM1.25 billion hybrid solar project for rural schools in Sarawak.
Rosmah is appealing the conviction and sentence.
