KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian
Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has won praise from a prominent international
anti-corruption figure who described it as one of the world's most esteemed of
its kind among the international community.
By the same token, MACC
Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Abu Kassim Mohamed is also one of the most
recognised and esteemed among anti-corruption experts and the international
community, says Martin Kreutner, the president of European Partners Against
Corruption network (EPAC).
Abu Kassim is a member of
the INTERPOL Group of Experts on Corruption (IGEC) and executive committee
member of the International Academic Advisory Board of the Vienna-based
International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA).
Kreutner, Chairman of IACA,
is currently visiting Malaysia.
He told Bernama that IACA
would soon sign a memorandum of understanding with MACC to establish a
framework of cooperation for its first International Masters Programme in
anti-corruption under which part of the programme would be conducted at the
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Academy (MACA) here.
MACA also conducts some
international programmes and is the world's first anti-corruption academy.
The 24-month Masters
Programme for anti-corruption professionals, police officers, judges and other
enforcement agency officers, will be launched on Dec 9 to coincide with World
Anti-Corruption Day.
It is the first full-pledged
programme on the global corruption studies, addressing corruption from various
perspectives and will have participants from all five continents and all
regions.
Kreutner said it would not
only incorporate the perspective of corruption and the law but also the
perspective of corruption and science, corruption and security, corruption and
politics and economics.
"The modules will
reflect the common understanding and international cooperation in fightng
corruption which has become very important and therefore we place strong
emphasis on international cooperation," he said.
Kreutner, a former head of
the Austrian Anti-Corruption Commission, said the Arab Spring movement that
toppled a number of Arab regimes over the last two years, was an example where
because there was no political will from the top to combat corruption, the
people had resorted to the revolutionary approach.
"One of the key
elements of the Arab Spring movement was that the people had had enough of
corruption. There is obviously a very strong understanding among the people
that they didn't want to be treated unjustly".
He said the fight against
corruption internationally had made vast improvements over the last decade with
the United Nations Convention Against Corruption already adopted in the various
regions.
Kreutner disclosed that when
two heads of state in the Arab region had to step down at the height of the
Arab Spring movement, it took only 30 minutes to have their illegal assets
frozen in safe havens.
"If it had happened 10
years ago, it would have taken 30 months, if this had happened 25 years ago,
some safe haven would say "bank secrecy, no information. Period. I think
there is improvement, positive improvements, success stories but at the other
end, let's be frank, Rome wasn't built in a day.
"We also need to
struggle in the future and it would also be an uphill battle. But there is hope
at the end of the day. Interestingly, it's the countries of the so-called
developing world that are at the forefront and mean business."
Asked on the educational
approach to combat corruption, billed as the world's second oldest profession,
he said countries need to go into the inter-generational approach, starting
with addressing children and youngsters.
"When I went to school
and university where I studied law, corruption wasn't mentioned a single time.
Only when I specialised in criminal law, corruption was one issue, among many.
"I think it is very
important, within the chapter of education, to raise awareness also among the
people that this is not a small sum and it costs billions and billions a year
to the country.
"Ultimately, corruption
is against human rights. And corruption is the opposite of equity and equality.
In this context, fighting corruption is also about the rule of law and good
governance," he added.
Kreutner said there would
always be corruption in the future and efforts should be concentrated on
gradual improvements and the need to go for the long-term perspective.
"If the politician or a
manager promises you that he can eradicate corruption within half a year, with
most due respect, most likely he is a liar. I'd rather see the glass half full
than half empty," he said. - Bernama
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