The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), together with other enforcement agencies, has recovered RM15.5 billion in assets over the past two and a half years, Tan Sri Azam Baki announced today.
Speaking during a special broadcast for the 2025 International Anti-Corruption Day, the MACC Chief Commissioner said the commission’s focus has shifted toward tracing and recovering assets stolen through corruption, smuggling, and other crimes to return them to the people.
Azam attributed the success to improved inter-agency collaboration through the Malaysian Anti-Financial Crime Taskforce (MATF), which has broken down previous “silo” mentalities among enforcement bodies. He emphasized that lack of information sharing is a major weakness in law enforcement, a lesson learned from countries like the United States after the 9/11 attacks.
“The primary goal is to ensure that all enforcement agencies involved are able to trace and recover assets stolen or lost through corruption, smuggling, and other crimes, and return them to the people,” he said.
Azam also linked the MACC’s transformation to Malaysia’s political history, noting that the failure to effectively handle corruption prior to 2008 contributed to Barisan Nasional’s historic loss of power for the first time.
“It was not just about politics but public perception. The people had begun to talk, to observe, and to judge. If we did not change our methods in prevention, operations, and public education, we would have continued to fall behind,” he explained.
He said this public pressure led to the MACC’s 2009 transformation, giving it a new structure, enhanced powers, and oversight from five independent panels. Since 2023, the commission has adopted an even more proactive approach, expected to continue over the next three to five years.
