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Malaysia's prime-minister-in-waiting says the anti-graft agency will be given the power to go after senior civil servants

Prime  minister-in-waiting Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has launched a major assault on government corruption that has grown unfettered under the 22-year rule of outgoing Prime Minister  Mahathir Mohamad.

But opposition leaders say the campaign lacks credibility because the government has not filed charges against politicians and crony  businesspeople  who were investigated but never brought to justice.

Mr Abdullah,   who launched the anti-graft campaign in a blaze of  publicity on Monday, said corruption levels were alarming and promised that the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) would be given the teeth to go after senior civil servants.

'Corruption is a terrible disease',  Mr Abdullah  said. 'We need to wipe out graft to win the confidence of the public and foreign investors.'

The government has set up an Integrity Management Committee that  Mr Abdullah   said would oversee and tighten anti-corruption laws and ensure that graft investigations lead to more convictions.

But opposition leader Lim Kit Siang, of the Democratic Action Party, who has fought government corruption for 40  years, says he has heard it all before.

'The time is long past for beautiful speeches against corruption. We need real political will and tough action to combat corruption,' he said.

Mr Lim said  Mr Abdullah   should stop talking and go after the 'sharks'  - big business, powerful politicians and senior civil servants - and not chase after the small fry like police constables taking bribes for ignoring a traffic summons.

'No sharks have ever been caught in the 22-year rule of Dr Mahathir,' Mr Lim said.

Opposition parties plan to table a motion in parliament next month to cut the salary of the ACA director by M$10  (HK$20.50)  to stress how serious corruption has become.

Corrupt practices were so deeply entrenched that people leaving their homes would have at least M$300  in their purse to pay their way out of 'situations', said one prominent lawyer.

In 1995, the global anti-graft organisation Transparency International placed Malaysia as the 23rd  least corrupt nation out of a list of 41. That place worsened to 33rd last year, but out of a list of 102.

Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation vice-chairman Lee Lam Thye said corruption was a cancer that was slowly destroying the nation.

'Corruption cannot be just fought through laws. We need to build a culture that abhors corruption,' he said.

The 1997 financial crisis threw up numerous cases of massive corruption - from the steel giant Perwaja to national airline   MAS and telecommunication giant Celcom - but not a single case was prosecuted.

Mr Lim said highly publicised ACA probes were frequently given the 'all-clear' after years of investigation.

He cited the  all-clear  given to former transport  minister Ling Liong Sik and his son Hee Leong after a six-year investigation.

Hee Leong was a billionaire by his 27th birthday.

Last month the ACA was busy giving the all-clear  to two senior politicians investigated for alleged abuses of power and for awarding a multi-million dollar  timber concession to the ruling United Malays National Organisation.

Last week another all-clear  was given despite revelations that 574 of the 600 school computer laboratories built at a total cost of M$140  million were unsafe for use. Although some were not even built, money was paid out by the ministry.

Mr Lim said: 'Nothing can be more outrageous and scandalous ... these are crimes without criminals.'

Opposition parties say the campaign is mere window dressing ahead of general elections that are widely expected  next year.

But Mr Abdullah's   aides say the new-boss-to-be is serious.

Ironically, the campaign comes even as opposition lawmakers - for the first time  urged Mr Abdullah   to clear the air  over the alleged involvement of his aides and family members in lucrative privatisation projects, a merchant bank and several companies whose shares have gained unusually in recent weeks.



Abdullah vows to crack down on corruption