Sometimes, I wonder how many anti-corruption commission officers are required to cope with so many cases within the country.

In addition to the pending Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal and the "Lingam video clip" case, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has to investigate 41 criminal and administrative deviations revealed by the 2008 Auditor-General's Report and at the same time, it has to set up a special task force to oversee fund appropriations of all Members of the Parliament and State Assemblymen.

There are 222 parliamentary constituencies and 505 state constituencies in the country. If the commission allocates one official to in charge of one constituency, then an additional of 727 officers are required. In addition, there are many cases involving politicians, including former Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Khir Toyo and Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat. There are also cost overrun government projects like the double-track railway project which costs RM1.43 billion higher that the worth of the original contract.

There are also two interesting cases recently. The MACC should send more manpower and resources to investigate on a three-year RM32.4 million contract for flowers and plants to decorate the City Hall's office tower and the purchase of four diesel multiple units (DMUs) aged 20 years.

The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is a local government agency and not a tourism spot. Why do they need to spend about RM900,000 to decorate the building? Is it because the beautiful flowers can improve the officers' work efficiency or make the Mayor happier?

If they use RM900,000 to decorate the zoo, it may attract more tourists and they can use the income from ticket sales to offset expenses. Instead of decorating the building, why not using the money to build flats for poor wooden house residents. The government may be able to collect half of the rental after three years.

The Treasury has no money and thus, the government has to find ways to increase income, including charging credit card service tax. Meanwhile, the City Hall is spending extravagantly like this. It looks like it is being more lavish than the Middle East oil-producing countries. The government should punish those who have done wrong but Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin said that the contract was signed by the former Mayor and it has now revoked. The government is not going to open a file to investigate the case as the money had been spent and any investigation would not help. What a cavalier attitude! No wonder the state is having a financial deficit for a continuous 13 years.

As for using the RM30 million to buy used trains, there are different sayings from the railway company's board of directors, the Transport Ministry and the Internet. An online source stated that the government had purchased the used-DMU commuter trains for RM30 million compared with RM10 million spent by Costa Rica. Transaction letters, including letters between the Finance Ministry and the Transport Ministry, were attached.

MACC can investigate who is lying and why the website possesses the official secret documents? Before this, 1000 RapidKL's buses costing RM500 million had been left to rust. Hopefully, the incident is not going to repeat after the railway company bought the old trains.

If the government does not immediately stop the wild spending, a new building will be required for MACC to store the files. Former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi made an announcement last years that MACC officers would be increased to 5000 people. Based on the current trend of corruption, I am afraid that even 50,000 people will not be enough. (By LIM SUE GOAN/ Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/ Sin Chew Daily)