The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is prepared to help commercial organisations to identify the gaps or the uncovered areas in their anti-corruption plans ahead of the enforcement of Section 17A of the MACC Act in June next year.

MACC Chief Commissioner Latheefa Koya said the MACC would provide training and guidance in preparation for the companies to deal with corruption issues in their respective organisations.

She said among the matters that need to be taken into consideration for the enforcement of Section 17A of the MACC Act is whether or not the companies’ anti-corruption plans are already in place.

“This is the biggest challenge for the MACC because there are still so many questions to be answered, including whether or not they (companies and corporations) are fully ready with their plans,” Latheefa said at a special session of the Institutional Investors Council (IIC)-Securities Industry Development Corporation (SIDC) Governance Convention 2019 yesterday.

On April 5, Parliament passed Section 17A of the MACC Act to introduce corporate liability for corruption offences and give the MACC the power to prosecute commercial organisations engaged in corruption, marking a significant shift from the focus given to individuals.

- Bernama