PUTRAJAYA will protect whistle-blowers so that more of them can feel safe reporting corruption, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

“We invite people to report corruption and there will be no action taken against any whistle-blower,” he said at the 2018 Anti-Corruption Summit themed “Good governance and integrity for sustainable growth” today.

“This is the promise of the new government.”

Although there are fewer reports about corruption involving the new government, it was important for the public to keep Pakatan Harapan in check, he said.

“Today, we don’t hear about leaders being corrupt and we are no longer described as a kleptocracy. We have restored the rule of law and the law prevails. And if there is corruption by one branch of government, the other two can take action against it,” said the 93-year-old leader.

Dr Mahathir said corruption was rife during previous administration, which “encouraged” graft.

“Corruption was a slogan for the previous government. And when the top men are corrupt, the rest will follow suit.

“‘Cash is king’ was the slogan of that time. It means that corruption is the way and it will make you king and give you power.”

Malaysians, however, rose to the occasion and reacted against it by voting changing the government, he said.

“The people were given bribes and money. But they took (them) and voted against the givers.”

But while the new government is bent on eradicating corruption, Dr Mahathir said, it was an uphill task as it meant removing more experienced officers for younger ones.

“Cleaning up involves removing senior officers and replacing them with those who may not be as experienced. After the cleaning up, the machinery will be weak and it still has to combat the old practices. 

“But the machinery has been reorganised and there are now four different agencies to look out for corruption.”

Malaysia slipped to its lowest ranking at 62 in the 2017 Corruption Perception Index compared with the previous year’s ranking of 55. In contrast, neighbours Singapore was at No. 6 last year. – October 30, 2018.