BANGI: Construction companies will soon be required to apply for anti-corruption ISO certification when tendering for government projects worth RM100 million and above.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the matter was agreed upon in principle by MACC and the Special Cabinet Committee on National Governance chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently.
He said the government has given a two-year grace period for this to be implemented.
He said the construction sector has been identified by global researchers as having significant leakage issues.
"(And) this is an area where much of my discussions with the Finance Ministry have centred around.
"Within the next two years, G7 companies must obtain the ISO 37001 certification, where they must be prepared to advertise anti-corruption measures under Sirim.
"For now, participation is still allowed but once the two-year grace period ends, they won't be able to participate in MoF tenders (unless they have the certification)," he told reporters after the National Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission Research Conference, here, today.
Also present during the conference was Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar.
Azam, meanwhile, added that the construction sector in the country is also under MACC's focus as it sometimes involves government contracts where leakages occur.
"They (companies) participate in tenders at both the state and federal levels which is why we are focusing on this area.
"These construction projects vary, including road building, structures and so on, but will involve government projects where we have identified issues such as bribery to administrators, the increase in costs (of projects) and many other irregularities, both minor and major."