MACC Won’t Accept Backless Poison Pen Letters, Chief Says



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MACC chief Azam Baki says poisonous pen letters must be accompanied by documents to support the claim.

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will no longer accept letters with poisonous pen on cases of corruption or abuse of power unless accompanied by “complete and robust” documents for investigative purposes, its chief commissioner Azam Baki said today.

He said the anti-bribery agency did not want any individual or party to be victimized by the letters.

“I urge the public to provide information about cases with the assurance that their identities are kept secret and are protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act of 2010,” he told Bernama.

He said that even if a poisonous pen letter was sent to the MACC, he would first examine the letter to determine its content.

“For example, upon receipt of a letter with a poisoned pen containing complete documents, MACC will verify it to determine if the information can be trusted and used prior to conducting any investigation.

“We will not accept a letter with a poison pen that only makes accusations. We will only respond if the letter contains a name or an email (address), ”he said.

Previously, he said, MACC had received many poisonous ballpoint letters, but most of them did not contain reasons strong enough to warrant further investigation.

When asked if MACC could take action against parliamentarians or assembly members who skipped parties, Azam said it had no legal provision to prohibit politicians from doing so.

“It is outside the jurisdiction of MACC. It is up to the deputies to draft a law (on holiday parties) if necessary. MACC will only conduct investigations if there are elements of corruption (politicians are paid to leave the party), ”he said.

To date, he said, there was no evidence that such cases had been carried out, but there were cases of certain parties who had provided information but refused to cooperate.

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