Bribers targeted by officials

Wed, 22 Sep 1999 | Source: DPA

KUALA LUMPUR (DPA): People who pay bribes rather than those who take them will be the target of a new anticorruption drive by Malaysian authorities, news reports said on Tuesday.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said anticorruption officials had in the past focused more on taking action against those who accepted bribes.

Government figures showed 300 people were arrested for corruption last year, of whom two-thirds were civil servants. The amount of bribes offered also rose to 7.16 million ringgit (US$1.9 million) from 2.16 million ringgit in 1997.

The Malaysian government has vowed to eradicate corruption, which opposition politicians as well as former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim accuse Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's 18-year administration of encouraging.

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