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KUALA LUMPUR: Listed companies and organizations and organizations involved in high-value projects must have a proper anti-corruption procedure, says Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki (Photo).
He said that Section 17A of the MACC Act of 2009, which took effect on June 1, allows the anti-bribery body to go after companies involved in corrupt practices.
“As the new law has not yet been tested, the MACC will establish a standard threshold on the value of the project in which commercial organizations participate,” Azam said.
He said the MACC understood that at this time, not all commercial organizations had yet established proper procedures.
“However, organizations such as publicly traded companies and companies involved in projects valued in large quantities must ensure that they have established the proper procedure,” he said in his speech at the Corporate Responsibility Forum – Are you at risk here? on Tuesday (Sept. 15).
Azam said that the seriousness of the offense under Section 17A should not be ignored as the director, controller, officer or partner of a business organization, as well as those in the administration of the affairs of the organization, would also be liable under the provision. .
“Section 17A aims for all, if not most, Malaysian companies to be prepared with preventive measures against corruption in their management.
“The corporate world cannot hide, ‘sacrifice’ individual employees; they must be held accountable for the actions of employees, ”he said.
Azam added that the implementation of Section 17A was a preventive and not a punitive measure.
“The MACC will not knock on the door of every business organization to demonstrate that it has implemented the proper procedures. The company must show that it has done everything possible to ensure that anyone associated with it or employed by it does not commit corruption, ”he said.
Azam said companies could prove this by demonstrating that proper procedures were effectively communicated, implemented and enforced within the company.
He added that the Minister of the Prime Minister’s Department had issued guidelines on what could be considered appropriate measures under Article 17A; In addition, the National Center for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption had also prepared a guide on guidelines on proper procedures that can be downloaded at www.giacc.jpm.gov.my.
“As mentioned in the guidelines, its objectives are merely to help the business organization understand what proper procedures should be implemented in their organization to prevent the occurrence of corrupt practices in their business activities,” he said.
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