I fully endorse the efforts of the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Legal and Institutional Reform), Azalina Othman to set up the Ombudsman in Malaysia.
I had advocated the Ombudsman institution for Malaysia over half a century ago, and although in the intervening decades, the Ombudsman system in other countries had been the subject of study by the Malaysian government, the Ombudsman system was never set up in Malaysia.
In my meeting with Azalina in February this year, I had suggested that the Ombudsman was one of the innovations which the Minister should look into.
I applaud Azalina for her commitment to set up the Ombudsman system in Malaysia, with her stating in May that the Ombudsman Malaysia Bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament in October.
The Ombudsman Malaysia’s policies would be based on similar policies and laws in other countries such as the United Kingdom and New Zealand and will provide clearer functions and powers of Ombudsman Malaysia, which also include management of public complaints against government departments or agencies.
The Ombudsman Malaysia will be an independent body to address the wide range of public complaints against government departments or agencies in line with the government’s agenda which emphasises transparency and integrity.
The engagement session with Members of Parliament yesterday regarding the establishment of Ombudsman Malaysia is commendable as the purpose of establishing Ombudsman Malaysia is to replace and improve the functions of the Public Complaints Bureau (PCB) in serving the public to resolve complaints and promoting good governance in the public sector.