'Ikan bilis' no more, sharks will also be target in corruption crackdown

SHAH ALAM - The warning given by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to all Cabinet ministers and ministry officials to avoid any form of misconduct could help in curbing corruption as a whole, not only at the lower level, but also at the top.

Perlis Rasuah Busters chairman Nor Halmey Hamdah said in the past, arrests made for corruption only focused on the 'ikan bilis' (small fries), but now, it hoped that the 'sharks' were also targetted.

"For me, previously, people were questioning the fact that only heads of department were arrested, no one at the top dared to warn them. This time, when the Prime Minister said so, it showed that he is committed to deal with the problem.

"We don't want the people at the bottom to be intimidated while those at the top level are not touched. If the head is right, the tail will certainly be right," he said when contacted by Sinar Harian, today.

Yesterday, Anwar in a Maal Hijrah celebration speech said he was consistently cooperating with the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to monitor and lodge reports if there were corruption and abuse of power cases at the ministry level.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Corruption Watch (MCW) president Jais Abdul Karim pointed out that to ensure a lasting effect in fighting corruption, the government needed to consistently implement holistic and continuous measures.

"Various institutional reforms need to be expedited. With consistent efforts and effective measures, we can definitely progress towards a clean and corruption-free country.

"It is also important to remember that combating corruption is a shared responsibility and requires the effort of all parties especially the government, civil society organisations and Malaysians as a whole," he said.

Jais added that the announcement made by the Prime Minister was a positive step to fight against corruption among politicians in the country.

"Reminders after reminders from him about corruption-free practices is important to ensure a clean administration and integrity in the government today.

"Apart from that, the cooperation of the police to review and investigate criminal cases involving ministers and ministry officials is an important step to show the government's seriousness in dealing with corruption cases," he said.