ONE in five civil servants is “prepared” to be corrupt if they have power, internal Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission data revealed.

MACC chief Latheefa Koya said the data also showed that almost half of those arrested for corruption from 2014 to June this year are from the civil service.

“About 46.3% of the 4,860 individuals arrested for corruption between 2014 and June this year are civil servants.

“More worryingly, 53.4% of them are below the age of 40,” she said in her speech at an event in Shah Alam today.

She said 22.1% of the civil servants surveyed said they will accept bribes if they have power.

Such “willingness” to accept the practice of bribery when one wields power or holds a high position must be eradicated, she said.

“As long as there are powerful and influential positions, we will always face the risk of someone’s readiness to be corrupt.

“As such, I welcome the move by the Selangor government today to sign a corruption-free pledge.”

The pledge recitation was led by Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, and witnessed by Latheefa.

Amirudin, in his speech, said ending corruption is a collective effort.

“The Selangor government is committed to fighting corruption, and today, all excos signed the pledge. I urge all civil servants to reject corruption.

“Corruption can bring down a civilisation. The caliph rule collapsed due to corruption.”

As part of efforts to battle graft, he said, Selangor has had the Freedom of Information Enactment in force since 2011, allowing the public access to the state government’s official documents.

“The people can see and evaluate what the state government is doing.

“We can only claim to be successful if we can prove that our financial management is correct and done with integrity.” – August 19, 2019.