Long overdue Customs shake-up
As published in Sunday Mail today.
By Haresh Deol and Pearl Lee
KUALA
LUMPUR — A complete revamp of the disgraced Royal Malaysian Customs
Department — coming in the wake of one of the country’s biggest
corruption scandals in the civil service — is being set in motion to
rope in more rogue officers.
A task force is to be formed to
study weaknesses in the department’s standard operating procedures (SOP)
especially at entry and exit points where corruption is seemingly rife.
A
source familiar with the proposed revamp described the existing SOP for
these areas, where there is heavy movement of export and import goods,
as “archaic” and “riddled with shortcomings”.
He said the
review will also look at the existing powers of the department to
determine if this allowed officers at certain levels to operate
unchecked.
“The situation in Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ), for
instance, grants Customs almost absolute powers without check and
balance,” he said.
“There will be a total shake up where SOP
at ports and airports will be scruntinised and revised. There will also
be shifting of manpower as this will be a nationwide exercise.
“The
present processes and SOPs are deemed archaic as certain things — even
at PKFZ — are done manually including the sealing of goods. This can
give rise to possible tampering and other abuses.”
The
shake-up is following a major crackdown by Malaysian Anti-Corruption
Commission (MACC) last week which saw 22 individuals, including 11
Customs officers and a northern state Customs director, arrested.
Experts
from various fields and former staff are among those who will form the
task force to eradicate corrupt practices within. There is an estimated
13,000 Customs officers nationwide.
“There are also talks of
introducing new legislation including revising current Acts. It will be a
lengthy process, but it has to be done.”
Another insider
said the task force will not only look at those who worked closely with
the suspects but also back track to their previous postings and the
people they dealt with. This was to determine if similar abuses had
occurred.
“We are in the midst of compiling a full list
... where they worked prior their current posting, who they reported to,
work with and their extended family members. We are also looking at the
assets of all top Customs officials and work our way down to the lower
ranked officers,” he said.
“We cannot put an exact figure to
how many more Customs officers are involved but there would be more,
perhaps double of the number that were arrested. This is only the
beginning.”
It is believed money had been transferred while
properties were placed under the names of family members and relatives
who acted as proxies for the officers.
Investigators are also
looking at the possibility if other members of the syndicate had
provided loans to the Customs officers, over and above their commission
for smuggling goods, pressuring the officers to facilitate the illegal
activities.
MACC, had on Wednesday, nabbed the suspects at
various locations in Kuala Lumpur, Dengkil, Port Klang and Ipoh
following a year-long stakeout at PKFZ. The suspects -- including
business owners, agents and lorry drivers -- were involved in smuggling
cigarettes and liquor without paying duties and even transported them to
neighbouring countries. They were believed to have been conducting the
activities since 2011.
The smuggling of contraband cost the
government a staggering RM2.5 billion in lost of revenue over the past
three years. The rogue officers had a total of RM4 million in their bank
accounts.
Some RM3 million in cash and 10 vehicles, including a Porsche Cayenne, BMWs and Audis, belonging to the officers were seized.
MACC is currently scrutinising some 207 bank accounts involving RM6 million.
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