Where Does The MACC Stands in The Hearts of Malaysian?
By :
PKPj KAMARUDDIN M.RIPIN
The Director of Strategic Communication Division
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission
Pressure after pressure forcing the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to conduct a transparent investigation is no longer something new.
If we want to precisely look in to one by one, possibly it could reach thousands in a year. Most of it are beneficial political parties.
Party A requests the MACC to investigate Party B members and vice versa. It would never end.
By the way, it is not wrong to pressure or express thoughts if it's legit because the MACC does serve for people.
The MACC need to always be open to accept the people's grievances related to corruption.
Things like this do not only come from the people, but the palace has also issued the same thing.
For example, Sultan Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah once advised the MACC to provide adequate information to the people on the enforcement actions of the agency.
“MACC should provide adequate information to the people about the enforcement actions taken and the results of the investigation must also reach the people effectively.
"Complete information of the investigation is important to avoid the perception that some parties were released without any action and the MACC bounded to certain parties in their duties," he said, agreeing to officiate the new MACC Complex building in Shah Alam last year.
But the problem arises from the insistence or utterance done repeatedly by certain groups and it is mixed with political games simply without a solid base.
If we examine, the pressure is to be more like incitement so that the people believe what they claim.
In simple language, politicians create corruption issues to weaken or bring down their opponents.
It is not an exaggeration to use the concept called post-truth has made the MACC a victim until people no longer have great faith on the agency.
But what is meant by post-truth? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, post-truth means world situations that no longer emphasize objective facts to form a general discourse, on the other hand, personal and emotional beliefs are more influential in determining the issues of society or nation.
Citing Ku Seman Ku Hussain's writing in his article entitled 'Apabila kepalsuan diposisikan sebagai kebenaran (When falsehood positioned as the truth)', he explained, in today's political environment, truth is no longer the real thing.
Truth is subject to change based on situation and interest. It can also be positioned in various forms and relationships to obtain new meanings in line with political goals.
In short, in this post-truth era, tolerance for false and invalid accusation is no longer a problem.
The spread of many fake news on social media which is then featured on the mainstream media, requires without much question, even after it has been clarified that the fake news is actually is a mere lie or slander.
That is why, the MACC was dragged into the issue and even be the controversy to confuse the public.
In this case, the public should not have confused with the role of MACC as the corruption investigation body. They also need to know that the MACC does not responsible if a case is not brought to the court.
If we look at the professionalism of the MACC in carrying out its duties, we can trace the progress of the investigation in the case of SRC International Sdn. Bhd. involving the former Prime Minister.
In this case, the MACC proves that no one would escape if they committed corruption even if it is the country's top leaders.
This incident also denies the allegation that the MACC is a political tool of the ruling government.
For example, when the Barisan Nasional government was in power, the opposition will be caught, then when Pakatan Harapan ruled, the opposition was then be caught. Meanwhile when the latest government ruled by the Perikatan Nasional these thing does not happen.
The point is that it does not matter who is under the investigation and when the time is investigated, basically, the MACC will act based on the information or report lodged.
Even when the MACC open the investigation paper, whether the case be prosecuted or not, it is based on the facts found.
In conclusion, no matter what twists and turns hit, the MACC adheres to the two principles which are the separation of powers and the rule of law.
If we do not hold on to these principles, we seem to be spinning in a big circle without finding a way out.
