Suspend ministers under the same law as govt officers

SHAH ALAM - Cabinet ministers and MPs involved in corruption and abuse of power cases should be suspended under the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993.

This, Association of Malaysian Women's Aspirations (Aswa) chairman Wan Azliana Wan Adnan said was because the law only applied to government officers.

"Those who are being investigated or charged in court can be suspended if they are involved in a disciplinary case.

"The same rules should apply to ministers, but looking at the scenario today, it seems like this was not the case as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has appointed an individual involved in a corruption case as the Deputy Prime Minister," she told Sinar Harian.

On April 13, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki confirmed that the private secretary and special duties officer to Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar were arrested.

His special duties officer was arrested after he was believed to have acted as a "runner" to collect bribes from certain agents for quotas for the recruitment of foreign workers.

Wan Azliana added that the act of suspending some of the officers was the right move as it was in line with the rules.

She said if this was found to be true, then the matter should not be taken lightly considering that all matters involving the government could not involve "pays" and "rewards".

"The issue of combating corruption should not be rhetoric, but when you see that there are ministers in the court cluster, the situation will get worse, especially as it involves the integrity of the country," she said.