International Initiatives In Anti-Corruption Measures

International initiatives in anti-corruption
15
International initiatives in
anti-corruption measures
Abdul Razak Hamzah
Preamble
Corruption has become a global threat. Every nation
in the world experiences corruption; only the level of
corruption and type of corruption differ from country
to country. Corruption is a serious obstacle to social
stability and economic growth. It harms the economy,
undermines the rule of law, and weakens public trust
in government.
Realizing its consequences, more and more nations of
the world acknowledge that joint and concerted efforts
are crucial to eradicate corruption. The efforts must
not only focus on eradicating corruption domestically
but also internationally. Therefore, various parties
in the world have taken the effort to bring countries
together in corruption eradication. Some of the
parties are: the Group 77 and China, European Union
(EU), Arab League, Commonwealth of Independence
States, African League, United Nations, APEC, ADB,
OECD, World Bank, ABA, INTERPOL, Basel Institute
of Governance, Transparency International.
Rationale of Joining International Initiatives
on Anti-Corruption
Malaysia practices an open economy. In her daily
economic business, Malaysia deals with various
parties from foreign countries. The country invests
in many types of businesses in other countries.
At the same time, Malaysia encourages investors
from abroad to invest in various businesses in this
country. Among other things to be considered prior
to Malaysia investing in foreign countries or foreign
investors investing their capital in this country is the
issue of corruption. All international initiatives on anticorruption
stress that countries provide adequate anticorruption
measures in order to ensure businesses
can be run ethically.
Being a party to international business, Malaysia
cannot avoid from participating in such anti-
corruption efforts. Sidelining the initiatives means
ignoring the desire of the world to have a corrupt-free
environment. Joining the international anti-corruption
initiatives creates good networking. It enables intimate
cooperation between ACA Malaysia and other similar
entities around the globe. Such good cooperation
provides opportunities for Malaysia to obtain
assistance easily from foreign counterparts. This
ensures effectiveness in investigations, prosecutions
and other related procedures in anti-corruption work.
The international initiatives on anti-corruption provide
avenues for members to express opinions and
obtain support. Being a member to these initiatives,
ACA Malaysia may provide opinions on how best
corruption eradication work should be carried out for
mutual benefit. At the same time, this agency may
use the same avenue to gain support from other
members on issues of mutual interest.
Malaysia is a member of various international
organizations such as APEC, UN, OIC, G77 and China,
and Interpol. These organisations do not exclude
corruption issues in their programs. Corruption
issues have become one of the items deliberated
and resolved by these organisations. As a member,
Malaysia cannot avoid from taking part in the anticorruption
programs organized by the organizations.
Involvement in such initiatives means ACA Malaysia
believes and supports the concept of esprit de corp.
ACA Malaysia participates in anti-corruption initiatives
as follows:
Interpol Group of Experts on Corruption (IGEC)
The INTERPOL Group of Experts on Corruption (IGEC),
an outgrowth of the first International Conference
on Corruption-related Crime, held at the INTERPOL
General Secretariat in Lyon in April 1998, has been
mandated by the INTERPOL General Assembly to
develop and implement various new anti-corruption

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Public Private Partnership in Integrity Enhancement and Anti-Corruption Measures
initiatives to carry out law enforcement in the fight
against corruption. The IGEC is a multi-disciplinary
group representing all of INTERPOL’s regions. It
facilitates the co-ordination and harmonisation
of the different national and regional approaches
to combating corruption. In addition, the group
includes a host of other international stakeholders
in the global anti-corruption campaign. The rationale
underlying this structure is the general belief that
law enforcement should combat corruption as a
phenomenon holistically, in co-operation with all
major players and the community at large. The IGEC
is currently chaired by Mark Gough, Deputy Director,
Investigations Division, Office of Internal Oversight
Services at the United Nations, and comprises experts
representing Austria, Australia, Canada, Egypt, Hong
Kong (China), Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand, the United
Kingdom and the United States, plus the European
Commission, the Inter-American Development Bank,
Transparency International, the University of Ottawa
and the INTERPOL General Secretariat.
The IGEC provides essential information and feedback
to INTERPOL on matters pertaining to all aspects of
corruption, and is mandated to advise the Secretary
General on how best to combat this phenomenon,
both operationally and strategically. To give effect to
this mandate, the experts meet at least twice annually.
The IGEC is present at all anti-corruption meetings
and participates in most anti-corruption fora. It has
also conducted numerous anti-corruption workshops
and seminars and hosted several conferences. The
group has established substantial credentials as being
innovative and leading the fight against corruption
globally. ACA Malaysia is represented by Abu Kassim
bin Mohamed, as a member of the group since its
inception.
Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering
The Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG)
is an autonomous and collaborative international
organization founded in 1997 in Bangkok, Thailand,
consisting of 38 member jurisdictions and a number
of international and regional observers. Some of the
international organizations who participate in, and
support the efforts of the APG in the region include
the FATF, International Monetary Fund, the World
Bank, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,
the Asian Development Bank, the Egmont Group of
Financial Intelligence Units, and APEC. The member
jurisdictions and observers of the APG are committed
to the effective implementation and enforcement of
internationally accepted standards against money
laundering and the financing of terrorism, in particular
through the Forty Recommendations and Nine
Special Recommendations on Terrorist Financing of
the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering
(FATF).
The APG has five key roles:
1. To assess compliance by APG member
jurisdictions with the global AML/CFT
standards through a robust mutual evaluation
program;
2. To coordinate technical assistance and
training with donor agencies and countries
in the Asia/Pacific region in order to improve
compliance by APG members with the global
AML/CFT standards;
3. To participate in, and co-operate with, the
international anti-money laundering network -
primarily with the FATF and with other regional
anti-money laundering groups;
4. To conduct research and analysis into money
laundering and terrorist financing trends and
methods to better inform APG members of
systemic and other associated risks and
vulnerabilities; and
5. To contribute to the global policy development of
anti-money laundering and counter terrorism
financing standards by active Associate
Membership status in the FATF.
The APG also assists jurisdictions to establish
coordinated domestic systems for reporting and
investigating suspicious transaction reports and
to develop effective capacities to investigate and
prosecute money laundering and the financing
of terrorism offences. Malaysia, through the
establishment of National Coordinating Committee
(NCC) in April 2000 and following the cabinet
approval, joined the APG on 31 May 2000. ACA
Malaysia is a member of NCC which comprises 13
agencies headed by the Central Bank. ACA Malaysia
participated in the drafting of the national anti-money
laundering plan, AMLA 2001 and MACMA 2002. The
ACA participated in the APG Mutual Evaluation on
Malaysia in 2001, IMF/OGBS Mutual Evaluation on
Labuan IOFC 2001 and the APG Mutual Evaluation
on Malaysia 2007.

International initiatives in anti-corruption
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ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and
the Pacific
Governments in Asia-Pacific have resolved to
cooperate in the fight against corruption as early as
1999, when they launched the Anti-Corruption Initiative
for Asia-Pacific under the joint leadership of the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) and the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The Anti-Corruption Action Plan for Asia and the
Pacific, developed in the framework of this Initiative,
sets out the goals and standards for sustainable
safeguards against corruption in the economic,
political and social spheres of countries in the region.
To date, 28 countries and economies from Asia
and the Pacific have endorsed the Plan and have
agreed on implementation mechanisms to achieve its
standards.
The Anti-Corruption Action Plan sets high anticorruption
standards and brings about concrete
changes in the region’s anti-corruption landscape.
It encourages the establishment of effective and
transparent systems for public service, strong antibribery
action and promotion of integrity in business
operations, and the support of active involvement of
the civil society. Moreover, its implementation and
review mechanisms support the objectives of the UN
Convention against Corruption and the OECD Anti-
Bribery Convention in Asia-Pacific. The mechanisms
and outcome of this process have earned the
Initiative recognition from governments, international
and donor organizations, civil society and the private
sector.
Countries and economies of the Asian and Pacific
region that have endorsed the Anti-Corruption
Action Plan and committed to its goals are: Australia;
Bangladesh; Bhutan; Cambodia; People’s Republic of
China; Cook Islands; Fiji Islands; Hong Kong, China;
India; Indonesia; Japan; Kazakhstan; Korea; Kyrgyz
Republic; Macao, China; Malaysia; Mongolia; Nepal;
Pakistan; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Philippines;
Samoa; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Thailand; Vanuatu; and
Vietnam.
Malaysia hosted the 4th Steering Group Meeting
and 4th Regional Anti-Corruption Conference, which
were officiated by Dato’ Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad
Badawi on 3-5 December 2003. Membership of
the Initiative was open to any economy within the
Asia-Pacific region that: recognizes the need for
action against corruption and the benefits of sharing
knowledge and experience across borders; is actively
taking steps to implement anti-corruption measures
based on international standards; and commits
to undertake reforms under the framework and
standards of the Action Plan and to participate in the
Initiative’s review mechanisms.
The Initiative’s Steering Group, comprising
representatives of the Initiative’s member
governments, defines the Initiative’s priorities and
activities to support the members’ efforts in anticorruption
reform. The Advisory Group, which includes
donors, civil society representatives, business
organizations and other constituencies that support
the Initiative, assists the Steering Group by providing
technical advice and helps mobilize resources. A
small Secretariat, run jointly by the ADB and OECD,
supports the Steering Group.
The Action Plan sets out an implementation
mechanism that has brought about tangible progress
towards establishing sustainable safeguards against
corruption since its adoption in late 2001. The
mechanism foresees three main ways to support
members’ efforts to achieve the Action Plan’s high
standards: fostering policy dialogue and measuring
progress; providing analysis to support the policy
dialogue; and capacity building to enable members
to thoroughly implement the reforms. Strong
partnerships between member countries and with
relevant regional and international organizations
underpin these mechanisms.
United Nations Convention against Corruption
(UNCAC)
The convention was adopted by the UN General
Assembly via its resolution 58/4 on 31 October
2003. It has been signed by 140 countries since 9
December 2003. Malaysia signed it on that date.
Malaysia signed the instrument of ratification on
17 September 2008 and deposited it to UN on
25 September 2008 during the 63rd UN General
Assembly. The UNCAC ratification by Malaysia is
a testimony of the government’s commitment in
promoting and strengthening measures to combat
corruption at domestic, regional and global level,
in line with the national agenda to make ethics and
integrity an integral part of the society’s norm and
culture. It also reflects Malaysia’s intention to be a full
convention member and be proactive in combatting
corruption. The convention came into force on 14
December 2005 after 30 states ratified it. All together,
there are 71 articles contained in the convention.
The main convention protocols of UNCAC cover
areas of prevention of corruption, criminalisation of

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Public Private Partnership in Integrity Enhancement and Anti-Corruption Measures
corrupt offenders, international cooperation on anticorruption
and asset recovery.
Conference of the State Parties to UNCAC was
established pursuant to article 63 of the convention
to improve the capacity of and cooperation among
state parties to achieve objectives set forth in UNCAC
and to promote and review its implementation.
APEC Anti-Corruption and Transparency Experts
Task Force (ACT)
APEC Economic Leaders put fighting corruption on
their agenda in 2003 in Bangkok. The decision was
taken to set up a task force under Senior Officials
to specifically steer APEC anti-corruption activities,
and the ACT was established in 2005. Prior to the
establishment of the ACT, ACA Malaysia played an
important and active role in the APEC Meeting of Anti-
Corruption Experts in September 2004 in Santiago,
Chile, to formulate the APEC Course of Action on
Fighting Corruption and Ensuring Transparency. ACA
Malaysia has been a member to this meeting since
then.
Main focuses of the ACT are to: encourage members
to take all appropriate steps towards ratification of,
or accession to, and implementation of the UNCAC;
strengthen measures to effectively prevent and fight
corruption and ensure transparency; deny safe haven
to officials and individuals guilty of public corruption;
fight both public and private sector corruption; forge
public-private partnership in fighting corruption
and ensuring transparency; cooperate with APEC
member economies to combat corruption and ensure
transparency in the region.
International Association of Anti-Corruption
Authorities (IAACA)
The establishment of the International Association of
Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA) was initiated at
the High-Level Political Conference for the Purpose
of Signing the United Nations Convention against
Corruption (UNCAC) in Merida, Mexico in December
2003. It has since received enthusiastic support
among the various anti-corruption authorities in many
countries and international organizations, as well as
special assistance of the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at Vienna.
In the informal consultations on the establishment
of an international association of anti-corruption
authorities at the UN Office in Vienna in April 2006,
representatives from international organizations and
anti-corruption authorities in Argentina, Azerbaijan,
France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Latvia,
Malaysia, Namibia, Netherlands, Pakistan, Romania,
Singapore, South Africa, Uganda, United Kingdom
and United States of America, as well as the leaders
of the UNODC, gave their unanimous support to the
establishment of the IAACA.
ACA Malaysia has been one of the founding members
of this association since 2005. The Director General
of ACA Malaysia is a member of its Executive
Committee. The First Annual Conference and General
Meeting of IAACA were held in Beijing from 22nd to
26th, October, 2006. About 1000 delegates from
137 countries and 12 international organizations
participated in the event. Among them, more than
250 were officials of deputy minister level or above.
The President of the People’s Republic of China,
His Excellency Mr. Hu Jintao, attended the opening
ceremony of the Conference and delivered a speech.
A formal Declaration was passed at the closing
ceremony of the Conference.
IAACA aims at facilitating the implementation of
UNCAC, consolidating international cooperation to
combat corruption, promoting measures for prevention
of corruption in both public and private sectors,
and facilitating the exchange and dissemination of
expertise and experience.
Conclusion
All initiatives that ACA Malaysia participates in carry
the same mandate – to eradicate corruption, enhance
integrity and ensure transparency. The work towards
these aims requires all nations to form a specific
entity. These initiatives encourage cooperation among
members, sharing best practices and information to
criminalise all forms of corruption. Being a member
to these initiatives provides ACA Malaysia numerous
advantages in its daily operations. These advantages
enable the agency to improve its effectiveness and
efficiency.
NOTE : This article was published in ‘The Enhancement of Integrity and Anti-Corruption
Measures’ by Private Sector Division, Malaysian Institute of Integrity.