ANALYSIS
By ERDA KHURSYIAH BASIR
The PH government’s biggest achievement to date has to be its success in getting rid of the kleptocracy label that Malaysia was stuck with under the previous administration.
Political observer Prof Dr Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmod has said the elimination of corrupt elements is not an easy task but feels the current government led by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has nevertheless given top priority to busting corruption and making Malaysia a corruption-free nation.
This is in line with the ruling coalition’s pledge to liberate Malaysia from the clutches of corrupt practices and institute good governance, as outlined in its manifesto for the 14th general election last May.
“The series of arrests, investigations and charges filed against various individuals reflect the sincerity of the government to contain this menace,” said Nik Ahmad Kamal, a law lecturer at the International Islamic University of Malaysia.
In less than a year after PH came into power, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has gone into “overdrive” and brought several corruption cases involving prominent politicians and other individuals to court.
“The government’s biggest achievement is that the issue of Malaysia being a kleptocratic nation will not arise anymore.
“We Malaysians are hoping that the accused parties when convicted are punished accordingly because it involves corruption and abuse of power, including misappropriating public funds,” he said.
Clean, efficient, trustworthy
In his keynote address at Invest Malaysia 2019 two weeks ago, Dr Mahathir said PH has spent a good part of its first year in office to plug the almost bottomless pit created by 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Reiterating his government’s commitment to making Malaysia a corruption-free nation, he said, “Now we are no longer known as a nation of kleptocracy. I cannot imagine the disaster the nation would have been in if the majority of Malaysians did not rise to the occasion. We averted the financial disaster waiting to happen if the Ponzi scheme to cover the 1MDB (1Malaysia Development Bhd) hole was not discovered and reversed.”
The prime minister said even though the task involving 1MDB has yet to be concluded and may take several years to resolve, “we have to move on to start developing the nation”.
For any government to live up to the “clean, efficient and trustworthy” slogan the fundamental issue it has to address is corruption among the nation’s leadership, as well as among civil servants at the grassroots level.
The 1MDB issue was a grim reminder of how a government that had fallen into the “comfort zone” after being in power for a long time had failed to tackle corruption and abuse of power to the extent that it was rejected by the electorate.
“The (PH) government has to convince the people that they are carrying out their duties effectively and do not condone any form of corrupt practice. If they fail to do so, the people will lose their trust and the next general election will be a challenging one for PH as any government that fails to eradicate corruption is deemed a weak administration that lacks integrity,” said Nik Ahmad Kamal,
Declaration of assets
Sharing his views on PH’s anti-corruption stance, lawyer Muhammad Hafiz Hood says the PH government has proven its integrity by making it compulsory for all ministers and members of parliament, including their spouses and children, to declare their assets.
Also, the government’s proposal to ensure an open tender system for ministry projects is among the small steps it has taken to eradicate corrupt practices, he says, noting that the MACC is also being empowered to carry out its anti-corruption activities in accordance with the rule of law and not based on “favouritism”.
“We have to be fair and look at the government’s seriousness (in combating corruption) in terms of its initiatives and efforts, instead of just looking at the ultimate impact of its policies and moves,” he said.
These efforts should be supported as they are the manifestation of the government’s commitment to cleansing this nation’s kleptocracy image.
Nik Ahmad Kamal, meanwhile, is urging the civil service to support the policies and initiatives introduced by the PH government.
“The civil service and government rely on each other. Public servants should be loyal to the government of the day. The government can change but the civil service institution is always up and running and it has to discharge its duties in accordance with the requirements of the current government,” he said.
There are some civil servants who have become so entrenched in the ways of the previous government that they are finding it hard to extricate themselves from the ethos or culture that prevailed earlier.
“Indeed, it becomes a problem when they cannot accept or adapt themselves to the policies introduced by the new government,” he says, urging the “recalcitrant” civil servants to stop manipulating certain policies or decisions as their actions could have a negative impact on the PH administration. – Bernama
INITIATIVES TO FIGHT CORRUPTION
- The PH government has implemented several initiatives to fight corruption, among them being the Special Cabinet Committee on Anti-Corruption which met recently and proposed the establishment of a special court to hear corruption cases.
- On June 1 last year, the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC) was set up to coordinate and monitor all activities related to governance, integrity and anti-corruption in this country.
- GIACC, which is headed by former MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed, will be responsible for planning, formulating strategies, and evaluating policies to ensure that all government affairs are carried out based on good governance, integrity, and zero tolerance for corrupt practices.
- The National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) 2019-2023, launched by Dr Mahathir on Jan 29 this year outlines 115 initiatives under six priority areas, namely, political governance, public-sector administration, public procurement, legal and judicial, law enforcement and corporate governance.
