PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has proposed the amendment of certain laws next year to impose heavier penalties on the bribe givers and those who accept them. He called for stricter action against those giving kickbacks, including private companies.
He described corruption as the root cause of many problems, ranging from environmental degradation, citing the illegal farming issues in Cameron Highlands, to illegal activities, such as gambling. When addressing the monthly assembly to the Prime Minister’s Department a few weeks ago, he said corruption could destroy all that we have built in this country.
Last month, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s deputy chief commissioner, Datuk Seri Mohd Shukri Abdull, said punishment for cases involving timber theft should be reviewed to allow for a heavier sentence because existing penalties had no effect on offenders. The existing fine of between RM50,000 and RM60,000 no longer served as a deterrent as the culprits could earn millions through illegal logging. If need be, whipping should also be made a punishment for such offences, as the impact of their illegal acts not only results in losses of the country’s treasures, but also causes destruction to the environment.
In this regard, Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) notes that the general penalty for any corruption related offences in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009 is imprisonment for a term not exceeding 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the sum or value of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is the higher. In comparison, the previous Anti-Corruption Act 1997, provides for imprisonment for a term of not less than 14 days and not more than 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the sum or value of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is the higher. The ACA Act 1997 carries a more severe penalty with a mandatory jail sentence if found guilty.
Even offences of criminal breach of trust under Sections 409 of the Penal Code carries a mandatory jail term of between two and 20 years, together with mandatory whipping and a fine upon conviction. As for penalties for cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code, those found guilty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than one year (mandatory) and not more than 10 years and with whipping, and shall also be liable to fine.
The government should move ahead with the amendment to increase penalties immediately and institute other amendments or new laws as needed. It is worth amending the existing law to provide for a more severe punishment by at least inserting Section 16 of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997 to replace the penalty in the MACC Act 2009. By reinforcing this clause, anyone found guilty will face a prison sentence of no less than 14 days to a maximum of 20 years in prison.
White collar crime is more brutal than violent crime. The actions of one or a few corrupt public officials and corrupt businessmen can affect the livelihoods of thousands, even millions of people. The punishment must be a deterrent so that offenders will not repeat the act. The implementation of harsher punishments would most likely reduce corrupt activities in this country. Surveys indicate that both the public and offenders consider prison to be the most severe or effective punishment for criminals, including white collar criminals. In China, white collar criminals can be given the death penalty.
On another note, there have been indications of some forthcoming proposed amendments to the MACC Act 2009, expected to be tabled in Parliament next year and this includes changes to corporate liability offences. TI-M fully supports this amendment.
In the United States and the United Kingdom, the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Anti-Bribery Act both have extra-territorial jurisdiction and hold corporations liable for the corrupt acts of their employees and their subsidiaries’ employees. Malaysia is already behind on this and following in these footsteps will be a move in the right direction. Once this amendment is in effect, companies can be held responsible if their employees commit bribery, unless they can prove that they had taken measures to prevent it. Currently, under the MACC Act, companies are not held liable for graft or corruption, and only individuals can be charged for bribery offences.
According to KPMG Fraud’s Bribery and Corruption Survey 2013, 90 per cent of respondents stated that bribery and corruption is the major problem for businesses in Malaysia. Therefore, corporate liability has to be extended to cover the private sector so that companies will take responsibility for offences committed by its employees and work to ensure their business entities are transparent and corruption free.
Such an amendment would also encourage companies to look into their internal control policies to prevent bribes and ensure that comprehensive training programmes are undertaken to educate their staff on ethics and integrity and promote good governance.