Thursday June 25, 2009

Penang rewards syariah chief judge for exposing corruption

By ANN TAN

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang syariah chief judge has become the first person to receive an award from the state government for exposing RM500,000 misappropriation of bail money.

Yusof Musa, 52, was presented RM10,000, a souvenir and certificate under the “I (Integrity) Reward” scheme from Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Well done: Lim presenting the award to Yusof in George Town yesterday.

Lim said Yusof had detected fraudulent withdrawals from a fixed deposit account and prevented further misappropriation from taking place.

“The misappropriation occurred because the officer who prepared the voucher is suspected to have known the IDs of officers responsible for checking and approving withdrawals.

“It occurred because the officers in charge of checking and approving had placed too much trust on a colleague by approving documents without examining them,” he said in his speech at the monthly gathering of civil servants at Dewan Tunku here yesterday.

Lim said Yusof detected the fraud when browsing through some documents and immediately reported it to the state secretariat in February.

“A police report was lodged and the suspected officer went missing. I have urged the officer to surrender as he cannot hide forever,” he said, adding the state government was leaving it to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the case.

Yusof, 52, said he was grateful for the recognition from the state government and pledged to continue to do his best.

In April, The Star reported that a clerk at the Penang Syariah Court is believed to have fled the state after illegally withdrawing more than RM500,000 in bail money for over two years.

Early this month, Lim an­­nounced the RM10,000 award for civil servants who reveal wrongdoings and graft within government departments in the state government’s attempt to achieve zero corruption.