KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will analyse processes within the National Registration Department (NRD) following the arrest of 16 individuals suspected of being involved in bribery related to birth registration.
MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said that besides investigating offences under the MACC Act 2009, the commission would also focus on the overall procedures within NRD.
“We will discuss this with the NRD director-general once the investigation is complete and we have findings on the department’s processes,” he said when contacted today.
Azam said all individuals involved in the case were successfully detained in two operations yesterday, and further investigations were ongoing.
The MACC arrested 16 individuals aged between their 20s and 70s between 11 am and 8 pm yesterday in Op Outlander and Op Birth, conducted across the Klang Valley and Johor.
The detainees include a civil servant, a medical practitioner with the title Datuk Seri, a legal practitioner, several agents, and birth registration applicants. They are suspected of committing offences between 2013 to 2018 and 2023 to 2025, involving bribery and the preparation and submission of false birth confirmation documents.
A total of 12 individuals have been remanded for four to five days until March 16, while four others, including the medical practitioner with the Datuk Seri title, were released on MACC bail for health reasons after their statements were recorded. — Bernama