dolution

Illegal Cigarette Cartel Stumps Economic Growth, says ACFE Malaysia President
KUALA LUMPUR: Illegal cigarettes super cartel within Malaysia’s law enforcement
agencies must be stopped quickly with operational enhancement and policy change, said
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE)-Malaysian Chapter founder and
president Datuk Seri Akhbar Satar. His comment is on the back of reports of alleged
‘cartels’ operating within Malaysia’s various enforcement agencies. These cartels were
said to have facilitated diverse criminal activities ranging from money laundering to
tender project manipulation. Akhbar said what the public is aware of is just the tip of an
iceberg. Further, Akhbar said while not all enforcement officers or personnel can be
bought, these illegal cigarette cartels are willing to exhaust every avenue, including
leveraging threats, to influence these quarters to work with them. Malaysia is currently
the No. 1 in the world for the illegal cigarette trade, where six out of 10 cigarettes sold in
the market are illegal products.
He said the profit from this massive illegal trade reaped by these cartels is more than
enough to establish a super cartel involving most, if not all, Malaysia’s enforcement
agencies. “They have no problem hiring lawyers to represent them in court and settle
fines if they are caught smuggling the contraband.” This super cartel is required because
the illegal cigarette trade cartels in Malaysia involves a highly sophisticated, large scale
and deep-rooted value chain that include international manufacturing, import,
transportation, warehousing, distribution, retail and even export,” Akhbar said. In terms
of solutions to tackle the illegal cigarette super cartel, Akhbar proposed to start with
improving all enforcement agencies’ standard operating procedure. “Effective personnel
rotation system should be in place at high corruption areas such as seaports, airports and
land borders.” It is important to make sure that individuals assigned to carry out the
specific task are honest enough to enforce them. They should be continuously
monitored,” he said. In addition, an in-depth review of the supply chain including but not
limited to shipping liners, forwarding agents, customs agents, and importers should be
carried out to ensure weak points are tightened and to prevent opportunity for abuse, he
said. He said apart from that, education programmes to create awareness and remind all
Malaysians on the perils of corruption should be rolled out.

1a) Based from the above article, identify FIVE (5) importance of business ethics. For
each importance, relate your answer with relevant points that you can identify
from the article.

(15 Marks)