Malaysia’s Public Services Commission (PSC) has recently launched a project to fight corruption and tackle Bribery Malaysia. Bribery is a criminal offense under common law. Bribery is used as a means to exchange one’s services or goods for money or other things. This act includes a range of transactions, including the offering, payment, or receipt of money or other material for the performance of an act. It includes the acceptance of services or goods by a public official or an agent of a public service or agency and the use of influence or power to secure any kind of transaction. It also includes any corrupt attempt to fix, conceal, or influence the performance of any transaction.
In Malaysia, the government has brought in many legislative amendments to tighten the no-bribery law. These amendments cover the prevention of any public official or any member of the public from accepting any form of payment or other advantages for giving services or products. Bribery is defined as a corrupt practice or deed. The Bribery Act 2021, which was introduced to replace the former Bribery Act of 1963, covers some additional aspects of the offense. This provision includes a definition of corruption and a provision for the registration and filing of public corruption cases.
The Bribery Act also incorporates a specific anti-corruption and anti-frauding provision aimed at preventing any office or agency from accepting any payment or other benefit for the recommendation of another person. With these additions and amendments, the Bribery Malaysia Act can now tackle more cases of corruption.
Another provision of the Bribery Act that enjoys sweeping amendments all over the country is the Prevention of Bribery for the National Security Act (PSMA). This amendment act seeks to prevent corruption that may occur through the use of a public official to help a private individual to do a commercial activity.
Another provision about the prevention of corruption in Malaysia, the Risk Assessment and Examination Procedures Act (RAPDA,) regulates the methods by which commercial organizations in Malaysia will assess the risk of corruption. RAPDA makes it compulsory for commercial organizations in Malaysia to carry out risk assessments and examinations designed to detect potential corruption cases.
These amendments were brought about by the Malaysian Parliament in 2021 with the aim of improving the country’s anti-corruption efforts. The main aim of the amendments was to make it easier to detect, prevent, and penalize cases of bribery.
