We have faced extremely turbulent episodes of corruption that have severely impacted our democracy, rule of law, and our economic development. Scandals like the ever famous 1MDB which has the previous prime minister jailed, LCS, where the navy’s opinions were totally ignored and not a single ship has been completed. MySejahtera where the government got stuck with the app developer and have to pay a hefty sum via direct negotiation. All of these scandals could only have been exposed because the PAC has been working tirelessly round the clock to ensure that taxpayers money is safeguarded.
The inefficiency in managing public funds has been going on for decades and we will have the following policies in place in order to stop this from continuing to happen:
- Restoring Malaysia’s Parliamentary independence by bringing back the Parliament Service Act and improving the Parliamentary Committee system to improve the lawmaking and policy-making processes.
- Nomination of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner must be vetted by a bipartisan Parliamentary Special Committee. This will ensure the nomination of a truly competent, capable, neutral candidate who will not protect the interests of any specific political party or leader.
- HARAPAN will introduce the Freedom of Information Act and limit the implementation of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) except only for matters that can potentially threaten the security of the nation. This classification must be decided by a Parliamentary Committee and not at the discretion of any ministers. The current OSA law gives the discretion of classifying and declassifying documents as secret to the minister.
- For quotation requests of supplies for public procurement, the Ministry of Finance must maintain a list of supply costs that is updated every 6 months. For projects, the Request For Proposal system and open tenders will be carried out. Direct negotiations will only be allowed for matters pertaining to national security but subject to the Special Committee which will be led by members from the opposition.
- Enact the Government Procurement Act and overhaul the Defence Procurement Process to protect against leakages, corruption and abuse of power that often occur in the procurement and maintenance of defense assets.
The position of MACC chief will also then be protected from unilateral termination by the prime minister, giving him/her the confidence to execute his job without fear or favor. This is a very important difference from how BN and PN wishes to manage these appointments that check and balance the potential abuses of the Prime Minister and the cabinet members.
The Freedom of Information law is currently being practiced in Selangor & Penang without any adverse effect to the smooth operations of the civil service, but is a tool for the press, NGOs, and public at large to inquire and check on the government.
For the full reference of what Pakatan Harapan will do when in government, refer to this link: Combating Corruption – Kita Boleh