The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has clarified that its role is limited to seizing and confiscating the proceeds of corruption, and not deciding how the government allocates or spends the recovered funds.
MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki explained that once the seized money is forfeited to the government through the Ministry of Finance (MOF), MACC’s responsibility is considered complete.
“In short, our task is to seize and forfeit the money to the government under the MOF. It is not our responsibility to decide how that money is spent. That falls under the MOF,” he said at a press conference during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Territories Department and MACC today.
His remarks came in response to a statement by the President of the Malaysian Corruption Watch (MCW), Jais Abdul Karim, regarding the RM8.5 billion in illegal funds recovered by MACC. Jais had stressed that the recovery would only be meaningful if the money is used transparently, benefits the people, and is accompanied by strict action against those responsible.
Tan Sri Azam noted that the government and MOF already have established mechanisms to manage and allocate such funds.
“For me, the MOF or the government knows how to manage it,” he said, emphasizing that MACC’s priority is ensuring stolen money is returned to the people through legal processes.
“What is important for us is to return money stolen from the people back to the people,” he added.
He also made it clear that decisions regarding the spending of confiscated funds fall entirely within the government’s authority.
“How the government chooses to spend the money is a government decision,” he said.
