MACC deserves a pat on the back

I'm sure Malaysians would remember the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's recent success in crippling a deep-rooted cigarette and liquor smuggling syndicate in the country.

The MACC not only arrested lorry drivers and forwarding agency bosses/employees but also set a Malaysian record of sorts for arresting and successfully charging a long list of Royal Malaysian Customs Department officers, senior officers and state directors for their role in the syndicate.

MACC basically plugged a big hole that was leaking billion of ringgit in national revenue and nabbed culprits who could be labelled as traitors. Almost all of them have been charged in court and we hope they are given a fair trial before being put behind bars.

Not many was in the know that the MACC were actually probing the smuggling syndicate's network within the Customs Department for more than THREE YEARS, since before the untimely death of Customs officer Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed.



While Ahmad Sarbani's death drew brickbats to the MACC, they never stopped carrying out their responsibility to sniff out those traitors in the department and beyond. Some say Ahmad Sarbani had actually provided vital information into the syndicate's workings.

Friends in MACC tell me the flushing of the Customs Department was a result of 24/7 handwork by hundreds of officers who risked their lives to nail culprits who were stabbing us from the back.



The assassination of Deputy Customs Director-General Datuk Shaharuddin Ibrahim in April, 2013 only strengthened the MACC team's resolve to clean up the department. They moved without fear or favour.

The Customs bust shocked many but it was certainly a breath of fresh air. Malaysians realised that the graft-busters meant business.

It has been more than a month since MACC's success in busting one of the biggest smuggling syndicates in the country. Apart from insignificant murmurs here and there, I have not heard politicians and political parties lauding the graft-buster's success. Even ministers are silent.

What happened to all those loud mouth Opposition politicians who often jumped on MACC's back with a long list of accusation ranging from murder to selective investigation/prosecution?

Why are they tongue-tied when MACC scores such a big success? It is all about politics and political expediency, is it not?

What shocks me further is that even those from the ruling government have been silent or rather shy to give the MACC a pat on its back when they most deserve it. Sending out a Tweet or two is certainly not enough and doesn't reflect the kind of support the MACC needs to march forward.

The Dewan Rakyat has been in session for more than a week now and to-date I don't think any of the 222 elected representatives (from both sides of the divide) have said anything about MACC's success in fighting organised treachery/corruption.

What does that tell you?