USM COMMITTED TO FIGHT CORRUPTION THROUGH CIP

PENANG, July 20, 2012 – The Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) community has opened a new chapter in an effort to increase understanding of the value of integrity and combat corruption through the Corporate Integrity Pledge (CIP) which was read here today.

USM Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dato' Omar Osman said that the move was very important for making it a university community culture to ensure that integrity is made the primary objective in their work in carrying out their duties and responsibilities.

He said that in large organisations such as USM, one important aspect to consider is the development of human resources based on the things that lead to ethical and moral values.

“The programme today is seen as that first step that can provide knowledge to all staff in the correct planning and the execution of work in a process that the university wishes to stand firm in the context of an academic institutional,” he said.

He was speaking at a press conference after attending the programme and leading the reading of USM Corporate Integrity Pledge here today.

The inaugural ceremony was also attended by the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Commissioner, Dato' Sri Haji Abu Kassim Mohamed, and the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (MII) President, Datuk Dr. Mohd Tap Salleh, who were the panelists at the forum entitled Integriti: Asas Penzahiran Pencapaian.

Omar also said that integrity is not only closely related to the issue of corruption alone but it puts a value to show the core principles of trust and integrity in the identity of any action.

He added that a person of integrity will uphold the trust given and execute his duties properly.

“Each student must also have integrity and they should realise that they are responsible for combating all acts of immorality and violation of integrity,” he said.

Meanwhile, Abu Kassim said that measures taken by USM are deemed very important and become a pioneer in increasing the integrity in education at Institutions of Higher Learning (IPTA).

He said that the MACC is also in the process of implementing training programmes for developing human capital to fill the position of chief integrity officer (CIO) for each organisation in the country.

He said the programme was important to expose every employee in an organisation with current issues in discharging trust and responsibility.

“USM has taken proactive steps to avoid the undesirable from occurring in the early stages by imparting knowledge to its community members on the importance of integrity,” he said.

He said the integrity of the educational aspect is just as important as other areas because in education there are certain grants or funds that are for research purposes.

He said that all CIO programme participants will be exposed to the illegality of corruption, the law and risk study through four main modules which will be jointly conducted with MACC and MII.