Doubts over govt's fight against corruption amid uncertainty on high-powered anti-graft body

Concerns were expressed over the government's commitment to fighting graft in the wake of Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's controversial appointment as deputy prime minister despite the multiple corruption charges against him in court. 

These fears appear to have been amplified following Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's announcement today that a high-powered anti-corruption body embedded in his office since 2018 might be shut down, MalaysiaNow has learnt.

The National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC), formed under the leadership of Dr Mahathir Mohamad to complement the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), is seen as central to the National Anti-Corruption Plan launched in 2019.

Among others, GIACC is tasked with charting frameworks and policies on integrity and good governance, as well as monitoring all related activities with the goal of ensuring zero tolerance for corruption in the administration.

MalaysiaNow is reliably informed that staff members have been told to clear their desks and await further instructions on their future deployment.

The centre's first head was former MACC chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed, who was among those appointed to the task force to investigate the 1MDB scandal before it was abruptly dismantled by Najib.

GIACC was also formed to house the National Integrity and Good Governance Department, the Malaysian Institute of Integrity, the Public Complaints Bureau and the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission.

Announcing its formation in 2018, Mahathir said all ministries had been instructed to identify at least three weaknesses in existing laws and policies, with recommendations to reduce instances of corruption, which would be submitted to GIACC.

Concerns over GIACC come as Anwar's administration walks a tightrope to ensure the continuity of his fragile coalition government with Barisan Nasional (BN), where support from leaders aligned with Najib had been crucial in his coming to power in the wake of the hung parliament following last month's general election. 

Anwar controversially appointed BN chairman Zahid as one of his deputies despite the Umno president facing multiple corruption charges involving millions of ringgit. 

The source who spoke to MalaysiaNow said such an appointment was "completely contrary to the whole idea of establishing GIACC".

"A key task of GIACC is to improve Malaysia's corruption perception abroad after years of low scores in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI). The appointment of Zahid, who is facing corruption charges, to the top echelons of the government, will certainly not improve our score," said the source.

Malaysia was ranked at 62nd place out of 180 countries in the CPI score last year, down from 51st in 2019 and 57th in 2020.