By Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin
KUALA LUMPUR: The Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) efforts to restore good governance in this country in the last one year, including its all-out fight against corruption, have already borne positive results.
Among its earliest victories was helping this nation to get rid of its infamous kleptocracy label left behind by the previous administration.
Malaysia also moved one rank up to the 61st spot in global anti-graft coalition Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2018.
After taking over the federal government on May 9 last year, PH immediately set out to “cleanse” the administrative system and weed out corrupt practices and wrongdoings.
The subsequent series of actions saw many former leaders being hauled to court for corruption, including for cases linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
A nationwide survey carried out by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) early this year showed that 82 per cent of the respondents were of the opinion that corruption and abuse of power issues in Malaysia were at a worrying level.
Determined to sever the chain of corruption in Malaysia, the government launched the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) 2019-2023 in January that was in line with a pledge PH had made in its 14th General Election manifesto to make Malaysia corrupt-free and be known for its integrity.
Begin from young
Universiti Putra Malaysia lecturer Dr Syed Agil Alsagoff said PH proved that it was serious in its fight against corruption when it wasted little time in arresting and prosecuting various politicians, civil servants and private-sector employees who had abused their power and were involved in bribery.
However, he felt that in combating corruption, the government should also step up efforts to educate Malaysians at a young age on the evils on graft, and suggested that the topic be included in the primary and secondary school curriculum.
“We’ve to educate our younger generation on the evils of corruption… when they are aware of it, they will give their full commitment to eradicating corruption,” said Syed Agil, who is attached to the university’s Department of Communications at the Faculty of Modern Languages and Communications.
Universiti Utara Malaysia lecturer in politics and international relations Prof Dr Azizuddin Mohd Sani said the PH government has already implemented and is continuing to carry out various measures to prevent acts of corruption.
These include reviewing projects that were awarded via direct negotiations and hence, lacked transparency, as well resolving financial scandals involving 1MDB, Lembaga Tabung Haji and Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) through legal means and restructuring of the institutions concerned.
“The government also intends to introduce new legislation related to political financing and also introduce an asset declaration system, as well as improve the policy and mechanism of giving gifts (to public officials).
“Besides that, the government also wants to amend the Federal Constitution and state enactment laws to limit the term of the prime minister, chief minister and menteri besar to two terms,” he said, adding that the government has also proposed the establishment of a special court to hear corruption cases.
Positive performance
Azizuddin has also seen an improvement in the PH government’s performance after a year, saying that it kept mobilising recovery processes in its political, administrative and economic sectors.
“It is not easy for the government to implement recovery measures, particularly for the nation’s economy. However, it has been carrying out the process in stages, which is showing a positive impact although some people are not happy because they’ve been side-lined.
“This renewal process will take time because it needs institutional and legal reforms,” he added.
Azizuddin said that the government is also seen as being earnest in its move to reach out to civil servants and convincing them to be professional even though they may not support the parties that make up the ruling coalition.
“This is because the civil servants are serving the rakyat and they should prioritise the services they render,” he said.
Syed Agil Alsagoff concurred with this, saying that the PH government was making an effort to bring about administrative, political and social reforms despite being confronted with various issues and constraints.
“The people’s acceptance of the government’s efforts indicate that they want changes in terms of the administrative pattern.
“However, they also want the PH government to gain their trust and confidence by eradicating abuse of power, bribery and other wrongdoings that were rampant under the previous administration,” he said.
He said the various measures to “cleanse” the public sector were aimed at nourishing the spirit of loyalty among civil servants to the ruling government, as well as creating information transparency.
It would also motivate civil servants to be more dedicated to their work and to put aside partisan politics.
Commitment to manifesto
Azizuddin, meanwhile, is optimistic with the PH government’s ability to institute more reforms within its five-year administration, in line with its commitment to fulfilling the pledges outlined in the election manifesto.
So far, the Goods and Services Tax has been abolished, fuel prices have been stabilised, the 1MDB scandal has been unravelled, institutions such as Tabung Haji and Felda are on track to recovery, the impasse over the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project has been resolved and a contribution scheme for housewives to the Employees Provident Fund has been devised.
“Actually, there have been many achievements. I’m sure PH will meet its manifesto’s objectives if the government remains stable,” Azizuddin said, adding that he personally believed that the PH government’s biggest achievements thus far were resolving the issues pertaining to ECRL and Tabung Haji.
Recently, the government announced that the ECRL project would resume at a reduced cost of RM44 billion following the signing of a supplementary agreement between Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd and China Communications Construction Company Ltd.
In the case of Tabung Haji, the government has managed to increase its total assets to RM76.5 billion against liabilities and deposits of RM75.5 billion in 2018 through the implementation of a restructuring and turnaround plan.
Syed Agil said to gain the trust of the people, the government has to fulfil its main pledges although it can only be done gradually due to the financial constraints it has been facing since taking over the nation’s administration.
“The government has to implement proper economic and social development policies to stimulate the economy, reduce the budget deficit, improve the socio-economic status of the people and reduce their financial burden,” he said.
At the same time, the government should also reduce bureaucracy, especially in terms of channelling information and allocating funds, by improving communications between civil servants and the people so that the government can realise its goal of getting closer to the public. – Bernama
