KUALA LUMPUR – All local authorities (PBTs) must establish integrity units by August 31, as part of efforts to strengthen governance and administrative transparency, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) announced today.
In a statement posted on its official Facebook page, MACC said all liaison officers (LOs) serving in PBTs will now report directly to the integrity unit at the State Secretary’s Office, rather than to the local council president.
“This approach is aimed at enhancing reporting autonomy and governance transparency at the state level,” the statement read.
The directive was among several decisions made at the National-Level Governance Committee (JTK) Meeting, chaired by Chief Secretary to the Government (KSN) Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, held yesterday at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC).
The meeting also stressed the need for strict compliance with MACC reports. The KSN’s office will issue reminder letters to ministries and state governments that have yet to act on recommendations made between 2017 and 2021.
To further strengthen integrity measures, the Public Service Department has been instructed to review key sections of the Human Resource Management Services Circular (MyPPSM), including provisions on accepting external sponsorships for smart partnership programmes.
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has been urged to consider adopting the “Do’s and Don’ts” Procurement Implementation Guidelines, prepared by the National JTK Secretariat, as an official reference and to issue them as a circular to be implemented across all government agencies.
Additionally, the KSN reminded all secretaries-general to promptly report any known corruption cases within their ministries.
“This serves as a key indicator under the Demerit Performance Evaluation System,” the MACC said. – May 1, 2025