Najib lauds effort to place MACC officers at ministry

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has commended the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry over its plan to place Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers at the ministry.

"It is a good effort to combat corruption," the prime minister said in his Twitter post.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, in his Facebook post, said, "We will not divulge the identities of the MACC officers, otherwise the effort will be an exercise in futility.

"The ministry will not protect any parties, including its staff involved in corruption. And if there are any cases, theirs will be handled by the MACC," he said.

Ismail Sabri was reported as saying yesterday that the ministry had made a request to the MACC to place its officers permanently at the ministry to curtail abuse of power and corruption.

He said although the rate of embezzlement and corruption at the ministry was still low, such pro-active steps would show the ministry's seriousness in curbing corruption.