Malaysia to protect witnesses in graft fight

The Malaysian government on Tuesday proposed a witness protection program to encourage whistle-blowers to come forward in an effort to stamp out graft and dangerous crime.
Law Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz presented a bill in Parliament to set up the program, which would give witnesses a new identity if necessary. They could also get compensation, accommodation and new jobs.

The proposed legislation is part of a flurry of reforms being pushed by the government of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in recent weeks as he prepares to step down in March.
Abdullah had promised to fight corruption and reform the judiciary and the police force when he came to power in 2003 but has been criticized for doing little until now. Abdullah has admitted he should have started pushing for reforms earlier rather than in his last four months in office.
Under the Witness Protection Bill, the attorney general will approve applications by whistle-blowers, but protection can be revoked by the program head.

Nazri said last month that witnesses would also be able to testify in court with their faces covered, while children would be able to give evidence from behind closed doors.
It is unlikely the bill can be passed in the current Parliamentary session, which ends Thursday.
Ramon Navaratnam, president of Transparency International, welcomed the bill as a step forward, saying Malaysia does not have any comprehensive witness protection program.
Last week, government lawmakers introduced two bills to reform the Anti- Corruption Agency and to set up a committee that would select senior judges. In addition, the government announced plans Monday to form a panel to probe errant judges.

Though the Anti-Corruption Agency made a few high-profile arrests, including the former immigration director, earlier this year, many observers complain that petty and high-level corruption remains rampant in the society.

TERKINI: MAKLUMAT MENYATAKAN SATU MEMORENDUM AKAN DI HANTAR MENDESAK FAIRUS MELEPASKAN JAWATAN

PULAU PINANG: Satu maklumat yang kurang jelas menyatakan bahawa AMK Pulau Pinang akan menghantar satu memorendum kepada pihak tertentu untuk mendesak agar TKM1 Pulau Pinang melepaskan jawatan.

Untuk menjaga pihak-pihak tertentu maklumat yang didapati tidak dapat di jeaskan kerana ianya akan menjejaskan parti PKR sendiri.Mungkin ada pihak-pihak atau orang tertentu yang mengetahui dengan lebih jelas akan perjalanan dan siapa dalang di sebalik segala peristiwa yang akan menjatuhkan kredibiliti PKR di mata masyarakat.

Apa yang menjadi persoalannya ialah siapakah yang akan di lantik untuk menjawat jawatan tersebut?Maklumat yang diterima team WRLR bahawa kerja-kerja untuk menjatuhkan YB Mohd Fairus adalah orang-orang PKR sendiri?

Maka kerana itu , ianya dilihat lebih teruk dari UMNO jika benar-benar ianya berlaku.

Ketika berita ini ditulis,YB Mohd Fairus sedang mengdakan perjumpaaan dengan 500 pemimpin Mahasiswa Pulau Pinang di hotel Traders dimana satu majis himpunan mahasiswa perdana majlis perundingan mahasiswa Pulau Pinang dimana semua pimpinan mahasiswa dari IPTS dan IPT akan hadir untuk berjumpa beliau

JIKA ADA DIANTARA ANDA MENGETAHUI MAKLUMAT SILA BERI KOMEN DIBAWAH

BLOGGER SAID:

SAYA SELALU MENGIKUTI PERKEMBANGAN YB FAIRUS.MALAH SAYA JUGA MENGENALI WATAK-WATAK PEGAWAI YANG BERHENTI DAN YANG TERBARU.

UNTUK BERKIDMAT SECARA SUKARELA ....DAH LAMA DAH............EN DIN BOLEH LIHAT BANYAK BERITA ........DALAM BLOG.INI PERANAN SAYA........DISEBALIK TABIR.MUNGKIN EN DIN JUGA PUNYA PERANAN YANG LEBIH LAGI...TAPI BIAR KENA CARA DAN TINDAKAN.SALAM.

Kebijaksanaan Harakah, Harakahdaily diperlukan untuk tingkat imej parti

Family members abetting in graft to be equally punished

WEB EDITION :: Local News

Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul AzizKUALA LUMPUR ( Dec 15, 2008) : Family members abetting relatives involved in graft will receive the same punishment as the guilty party as the term family members has been better defined under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Bill.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said under the Bill, the term family members has been broadened to include spouses, children, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces and in-laws.

"Under the Anti-Corruption Act 1997 (ACA'97), in-laws, nephews and nieces, cousins, uncles and aunts are not included which makes prosecuting them difficult," he said when tabling the Bill for second reading in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He explained that the new provisions were included in Clauses 23 and 36 of the Bill and offenders could be jailed not more than 20 years or fined not less than five times the monetary value of the bribe or a minimum of RM10,000, whichever is higher.

The penalty also applies to any foreign public official who abuses his position to accept bribes.
Lim Kit SiangMohamed Nazri said this came under Clause 22 of the Bill and was something new and in line with Article 16 of the United Nation's Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which was ratified by Malaysia last September.

Besides this, Mohamed Nazri said the Bill also called for the abolishment of the minimum jail sentence contained in ACA '97, set at 14 days.

However, the maximum at 20 years and minimum fine of RM10,000 remains unchanged.
On the same matter, Mohamed Nazri said the Public Service Department had approved the staff strength of the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) from the 500 at present to 900 personnel next year.

The ACA's staff strength would be gradually increased to reach 5,000 personnel in five years, he said, adding this would help the agency increase efficiency and effectiveness.
Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR-Permatang Pauh), who opened debate on the Bill, said he agreed it was timely but wanted adequate protection to be given to whistleblowers.

"Emphasis should also be given on this (whistleblowers' protection). Othewise people will feel it is not worth their while providing information. As such, I ask that the Bill be reviewed further to address this.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim"However, I wish to congratulate Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for introducing this Bill. It is a step in the right direction although many Pakatan Rakyat MPs feel more time should be given to scrutinise the Bill," he said, adding that having introduced the Anti-Corruption Act himself in 1997 when he was deputy prime minister, he understood the difficulties faced in attempting to introduce reform bills.

Abdullah tabled the Bill on Wednesday to enable it to come into force in January.
Khairy Jamaluddin (BN-Rembau) concurred with Anwar on the matter of whistleblower protection.

"The Bill ought to be strengthened further or separate Bill introduced to address this aspect to allay fears of whistleblowers," he said.

Datuk Razali Ibrahim (BN-Muar) was of the opinion that abolishing the 14-day minimum jail sentence was not wise and it might encourage corruption as people might think they could get away by just paying fines.

Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur) said in principle he supported the Bill but wanted debate on an important Bill like this be done thoroughly to ensure proper scrutiny.
He asked the Dewan to set aside six days for this.

Leadership change brings new opportunities for US, Malaysia - Envoy

December 15, 2008 8:44 pm by pna
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 15 — The United States (US) and Malaysia will see new opportunities rising in their bilateral ties with the coming in of new administrations in the two countries next year, US Ambassador to Malaysia James R. Keith said.

He said that new opportunities would rise not only in the fields of economic and trade but also in terms of interaction in the social and political arena, both regionally and globally.
He described the leadership change in both countries as the coming in of "new teams", with Barack Obama's inauguration as the new President of the United States taking place on Jan. 20, and Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak taking over the helm of the Malaysia's administration from Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in March.

"I think it is important that we both see this as an opportunity," he told reporters at a media roundtable on the US-Malaysia bilateral trade at the US Embassy here.

He said in a number of areas, Malaysia's voice carried a lot of weight such as in the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation . (PNA/BERNAMA)