THE Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission should start with Prime Minister Najib Razak if it is going to investigate civil servants living above their means, said PRK vice-president Rafizi Ramli today.

Rafizi offered to help collect evidence on the prime minister and his family’s excessive wealth which he said would be easy to do in view of the many investigations into state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) taking place around the world.

“The information (from the investigations) can be used as proof of how Dato ‘Seri Najib Tun Razak and his family live a life of extreme luxury that does not match his income as a civil servant,” said Rafizi in a statement today.

He also offered to gather volunteers who were professionals and young people to help track down civil servants who were unaccountably rich so that investigations could be initiated at once.

“I intend to establish a team to find out the wealth of civil servants to be reported to the MACC from time to time.”

Rafizi welcomed the MACC’s change of position on the matter, as previously the anti-graft body had said that its authority was restricted by the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009, which defines the types of graft MACC could investigate.

Rafizi urged the MACC to support the call to make it mandatory for those in public office to declare their assets.

“This will allow those in public office who are leading lives of luxury financed by corruption to be promptly identified and prosecuted,” he said.

Last December, Rafizi challenged the prime minister to declare his assets and to make all high-ranking civil servants and public office holders from Barisan Nasional and the opposition do the same.

Rafizi had said that he had also sent out the challenge in writing to the chief justice, Federal Court judges, the attorney-general, head of police, armed forces commanders, chief commissioners and other top civil servants.

In 2015, Rafizi had revealed that he was worth RM1.6 million. He signed a statutory declaration that his assets were worth RM1,960,344 and his debts, RM395,937.

He said nearly entire salary and allowances as MP went to paying the wages of his service centre employees and to his party. He had attached supporting documents in the statutory declaration which was released to the media. – August 9, 2017.