KUALA LUMPUR: The spirit to fight against corruption is always there, but Malaysian citizens as well as business operators would like to see real changes on the ground.

       Coalition for Business Integrity chief executive officer Mark Chay said this at the International Anti-Corruption Day dialogue, organised by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commision (MACC) session at the Star Media Group's Menara Star on Thursday (Dec 9).

       He added that Malaysia has good laws, but that alone was not sufficient to put an end to corrupt practices, especially among business entities.

       Chay added that he would always remind the business community not to be involved in bribery.

       “The penalty now is great; it is time to stop all bribery. This is the culture we need to change,” he added.

       He also said that, on behalf of the business entities, he was looking forward to frequent dialogues with MACC.

       Meanwhile, ABB Malaysia Sdn Bhd LBL Operations Manager, (Energy Industries), Subhasis Roy Chowdhury said a lot of initiatives have been taken in this region, but to eliminate all corruption immediately was something almost impossible.

       He said he was inspired by the way MACC emphasises anti-corruption initiatives through the education system.

       "In schools, the level of awareness given to students through the curriculum and the cooperation gained from non-governmental organisations (NGO) besides MACC is definitely a great effort," he said.

       He added that it was an individual preference to get involved in corrupt practices.

       “The law, processes, implementation and awareness are all there, but it still depends on the individual,” Subhasis added.

       The Minister Counsellor (Political Affairs) from the Indonesian Embassy Abelian Prajnya Yodha said this dialogue session helped mutually benefit both Indonesia and Malaysia to strengthen the existing relationship between both country’s anti-corruption agencies, namely the Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi Republik Indonesia (KPK) and the MACC.

       “We would always advise the Indonesian business community in Malaysia to run their respective businesses in accordance with the country’s law,” he said.

       He also added that he was expecting the MACC to conduct more dialogues in future and he would like to bring over more people from the Indonesian business community to participate.

       The panellists were MACC Deputy Chief Commissioner (Operations) Datuk Seri Ahmad Khusairi Yahaya, MACC Community Education director Datuk Razim Mohd Noor and Deputy Investigation Director Datuk Izani Wan Ishak.