PENANG, 11 Dec 2008: The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) has almost completed investigations on reports of money politics in the divisional Umno party elections and will forward its reports to the Public Prosecutor’s office soon for further action.
ACA Director of Investigations Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdul said till now 90 investigation papers had been opened and 90% of them were completed.
He declined to say how many people will have action taken against them.
Met by reporters after taking part in the 2008 Penang ACA open shooting competition here, Mohd Shukri did not dismiss the possibility of new investigations in connection with the cases.
Recently, ACA director-general, Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan was reported to have said the ACA had received 280 complaints on money politics and misuse of power during the two month Umno elections.
However, he said of the total only 82 had strong basis for ACA to start investigations.
On the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide, Mohd Shukri said till now the ACA had not received any report about the possibility of misappropriation or graft leading to the tragedy.
“We see no basis for graft but if people have information and make a report we are ready to investigate,” he said.
In the early morning 6 Dec incident, 14 bungalows were buried and four people were killed.
Two days later, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi urged all state governments to consider stopping housing projects on high-risk hillslopes.
Earlier, in his speech at the competition, Mohd Shukri said the meet was part of activities to have close ties with various government agencies, the private sector, the media and non-governmental organisations in Penang.
He said efforts to fight corruption required the cooperation of all quarters and could not be done by the agency alone.
“The responsibility and burden on our officers will increase and be more challenging when the ACA becomes the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission on 1 Jan. So we need really need the cooperation of all,” he said.
The Yang Dipertua Negeri of Penang, Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas, also took part in the shooting competition in which 12 teams participated. — Bernama
