‘Premier’ world gathering in
September is not a joke. Or maybe it is.
Right in the middle of what
looks to be the biggest political and economic scandal in Malaysia’s history,
the International Anti-Corruption Conference and Transparency International
will hold their 16th bi-annual anti-corruption conclave in the
country’s political capital of Putrajaya September 2-4 – with Malaysia both
host and a likely target.
The event is billed as “the
world premier forum that brings together heads of state, civil society, the
private sector and more to tackle the increasingly sophisticated challenges
posed by corruption.”
The
conference was originally scheduled for Tunisia, but because of a scheduling
problem over parliamentary polls it was moved to Malaysia with the cooperation
of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. This makes it all the more
uncomfortable, since the MACC’s chief, Abu Kassim Mohamed, was hurriedly sent
on vacation in July as the MACC appeared to be closing in on Prime Minister
Najib Razak over suspicious transfers of US$681 million into his personal
AmBank Account in 2013. The money was transferred back out a few weeks later
into an account in Singapore that has now been closed.
The
MACC’s probe has seemingly gone quiet with the boss out and other investigators
facing police questioning over alleged leaks to the press. Abu Kassim may not
even be at the event he is hosting. He reported to a hospital for a back
operation and is scheduled to be on leave until October. He has said he would
continue the probe of Najib’s finances if and when he comes back.
They know it’s a mess
To the
IACC’s credit, it displays a summary of the scandal prominently on its website
and acknowledges that it will arrive in the midst of a scandal. “The IACC is
indeed still on despite the controversy,” one potential registrant was told by
email. “We see the event as an ideal opportunity to explore ongoing issues in
Malaysian and beyond.” Having held previous gatherings in Brazil, Peru and
South Africa the IACC is presumably used to engaging with countries where
corruption is a live issue.
Given
press controls and the United Malays National Organization’s lock on media and
state power, Malaysia will be a challenge. With so many top officials having
been sacked or sidelined by Najib as he defends his position, the country
currently looks like a text-book case for how to stonewall a corruption
scandal.
Abu
Kassim is only one of a large number of officials who have been sacked, bribed,
promoted to other positions or otherwise defused to slow investigations into
the money transfer or the indebtedness of the troubled 1Malaysia Development
Bhd. state development fund. They include Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin
Yassin; a rival for power; Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail, who was
reportedly preparing to indict Najib; and several others.
‘Ending impunity’
According
to a press release from the IACC, the conference is being held “following close
collaboration with the Malaysian government and the Malaysian
Anti-Corruption Commission,” which are both hosting the event. The conference
theme remains “Ending Impunity: People, Integrity, Action.” The anti-graft
organization said, “We are delighted to be able take the event to a
key country in the fight against corruption in Asia.”
Najib,
under fire as never before, was expected to speak at the event. It is unknown
if he will still be there. Abu Kassim is also slated to speak. Among the other
listed speakers are Aruna Roy, the Indian social activist and freedom of
information campaigner; Simon Peh, commissioner of the Independent Commission
Against Corruption in Hong Kong; and Daniel Kaufmann, president of the Natural
Resource Governance Institute and former director of the World Bank Institute,
where he pioneered techniques to measure corruption. The full list is on the IACC website.
The
opposition Democratic Action Party parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, on his
blog, demanded that the conference be cancelled, asking “What type of an
example of ‘Ending Impunity: People. Integrity. Action’ can Malaysia present to
the world and some 800 international participants who will attend and be
engaged in plenary debates and workshops on ending impunity for corruption? Or
is Malaysia to present a live example as to how difficult or even impossible it
is in a country like ours to end impunity for corruption, unless there is a
total change of government?”
Beware domestic media
Lim has a
point. Given the control the government exerts over the mainstream media in all
its forms, one can easily imagine Najib’s administration pulling out all the
stops to show domestic viewers and readers that the world has arrived in
Malaysia to praise his anti-corruption efforts. An email from Asia Sentinel to
the IACC hadn’t been answered as of this posting.
As the
conference date has come closer, the IACC website has been crammed with stories
on the Malaysian corruption scandal, noting, for instance, on August 3 that
Najib had sacked all of the officials connected with the investigation. The
IACC laid out a road map for the country, saying Malaysia “needs strong and
independent authorities;” and that “press freedoms must be guaranteed and
respected;” and that “serious action is needed on cross-border corruption.”
It added
that the anti-corruption conference, which involves credible anti-corruption
NGOs and officials from across the world, would be on hand to tackle the
issues.
If the
conference indeed provides a forum that the Malaysian authorities took
seriously, the Plenary Agenda offers a possible guide to Malaysian corruption.
Plenary I deals with ending impunity. Plenary II deals with fighting corruption
in development and investment beyond 2015. Plenary III deals with “keeping
business clean and stopping illicit financial flows.” Plenary IV deals with
“investigating and exposing the truth.” By John Berthelsen Headline
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