An anti-corruption watchdog has proposed expanding the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) asset declaration requirement to include spouses and dependants, arguing that the move would help prevent assets from being hidden through family members and close associates.
President of the Malaysian Corruption Watch, Jais Abdul Karim, said requiring only MACC personnel to declare their assets may not be sufficient in tackling increasingly sophisticated forms of corruption.
According to Jais, international experience has shown that assets obtained through illicit means are often registered under the names of spouses, children, relatives, business partners or proxies rather than the individuals involved.
As a result, he said both the government and MACC should consider introducing a broader declaration-of-interest mechanism that also covers spouses and dependants directly linked to the officer concerned.
He stressed that such a measure should not be viewed as an invasion of family privacy, but rather as an effort to strengthen institutional integrity and reduce opportunities for assets to be concealed.
Jais also argued that the real challenge lies not in collecting declarations but in ensuring effective verification, auditing and continuous monitoring of the information provided.
Without proper cross-checking against property ownership records, company registrations, financial accounts and lifestyle indicators, he warned that asset declarations could become little more than administrative paperwork with limited impact.
The call comes after MACC chief commissioner Abd Halim Aman announced on June 8 that all commission personnel would be required to submit or update their asset declarations within one month of receiving official notification.
Abd Halim said the directive forms part of a broader effort under his leadership to strengthen integrity within the agency and rebuild public confidence in MACC as an independent, professional and impartial institution.
Meanwhile, Rasuah Busters chief executive officer Nurhayati Nordin welcomed the move, describing it as a positive signal that accountability should begin within the anti-graft agency itself.
However, she cautioned that the initiative must not stop at declarations alone. Instead, it should be accompanied by thorough monitoring, transparent scrutiny and decisive action whenever irregularities or red flags are detected.
Nurhayati noted that previous controversies involving asset ownership and shareholdings had affected public perceptions of MACC’s credibility, making meaningful reform essential.
She added that the public would want to see the directive translated into genuine institutional improvements rather than being viewed as a symbolic or publicity-driven exercise.
