INTEGRITY officers from the anti-graft agency placed at government departments and organisations have helped expose multiple corruption scandals over the years, said Latheefa Koya.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) new chief said the integrity officers from her agency were initially rejected but now their assistance is being sort by numerous agencies.

“We cannot deny the effectiveness of placing these integrity officers in government offices. They have exposed many corruption scandals in government-linked companies.

“If we didn’t place these officers, we could not have known what is happening, for instance, in Felda,” Latheefa told The Malaysian Insight.

Integrity officers have in-depth knowledge of procedures and tender submission processes where discrepancies are usually discovered and exposed, she said.

“These officers are very important to the MACC. They are not out there to arrest anyone or lay a trap, but it is an effective way to combat corruption.

“Now requests to have them on board are not confined to government-linked agencies but from the private sector as well,” she said.

The former lawyer said MACC also provides integrity courses for government agencies and private firms.

Controversy followed when it was reported that the previous Barisan Nasional government revoked the officers’ secondment from ministries and agencies in January 2018. No official reason was given then.

The removal of these officers after almost six years came as a shock to many but they returned to the ministries and agencies last July after Pakatan Harapan took over Putrajaya in GE14.

Latheefa said the commission also has a consultation unit offering advice on dysfunctional procedures or systems.

“We get many complaints and sometimes, we find there were no wrongdoings but failures in the system or procedures that needed to be fixed.

“The consultation unit prepares a report before tabling it to the said company and in the report there will be recommendations on how to improve the procedures.”

Apart from strengthening the integrity unit, Latheefa said she is also planning to request that the Attorney-General’s Chambers toughen up the agency’s prosecution unit.

“I will make an official request to the AGC to add more public prosecutors in MACC.”

Latheefa was appointed as the MACC chief on June 1. She was the former director for human rights body Lawyers for Liberty (LFL).

She is the first woman to lead the anti-graft agency. – July 13, 2019.