C4 Center head of research and policy advocacy Arief Hamzan said the proposed collaboration was a positive step towards tackling revenue leakages at ports.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) has called for greater transparency and clearer operational guidelines for the proposed special task force between the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM), saying its success will depend on a well-defined mandate and stronger public accountability.
C4 Center head of research and policy advocacy Arief Hamzan said the proposed collaboration was a positive step towards tackling revenue leakages at ports, but stressed that its role, powers and implementation mechanisms must be clearly established.
“Clear guidelines are needed to ensure the task force operates effectively, avoids overlapping responsibilities and delivers meaningful outcomes in addressing weaknesses in enforcement and governance,” he said in a statement today.
He said Malaysia also needed stronger transparency and accountability mechanisms to enable government agencies to be effectively scrutinised by the public, noting that existing avenues for holding public institutions accountable remained limited.
Arief added that a culture of secrecy within the bureaucracy continued to undermine public confidence.
He said efforts to strengthen enforcement should be accompanied by broader institutional reforms aimed at improving transparency and accountability across government agencies.
Among the reforms proposed by C4 Center are the introduction of a Freedom of Information law and the establishment of a federal Ombudsman office to investigate and resolve public complaints against government bodies.
According to Arief, the effectiveness of these reforms would depend on ensuring that their frameworks align with international best practices, helping to build more open, responsive and trusted public institutions.
The remarks follow recent discussions on the proposed MACC-JKDM task force to address revenue leakages at ports.
Last week, concerns were raised over the need for greater clarity on the task force’s scope of authority, operational focus and how it would report its findings to the public.
The collaboration has been described as a positive move to strengthen enforcement against offences involving container management, smuggling, document forgery and tax evasion.
However, questions remain over whether the task force’s primary role will focus on monitoring, prevention or enforcement.
MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Abd Halim Aman previously said the proposal was discussed during a courtesy visit by Customs director-general Datuk Amran Ahmad to the anti-graft agency’s headquarters.
The meeting also involved discussions on operational challenges, including customs inspection procedures, bureaucratic processes and internal issues faced by the Customs Department.
Abd Halim said both agencies also exchanged views on mechanisms to curb leakages in container management at ports nationwide.
The Sun Malaysia