The recent controversy over the share ownership by MACC chief Azam Baki has shown a dire constitutional crisis and the decay in the core of this country’s democracy. It also shows a desperate need to reform our institutions through constitutional reforms.
I would like to praise Prof. Terence Gomez’s courage in exposing MACC Advisory Panel’s failure to take a clear and stern stand against MACC’s chief share ownership to be investigated and urge the advisory panel too to resign en bloc. It is of any mature democracy for any department chief to go on leave or resign when an investigation is underway.
Moreover, the parliamentary supremacy should be upheld in the checks and balances of a mature and functional democracy, whereas the executive, law enforcement and judiciary branches of the government, especially In the face of top leaders and civil servants have to be under public scrutiny for their integrity.
Through constitutional reforms, Parliament should be provided more powers in checking abuses of other powers by executive, judiciary and law enforcement branches of the government. The referral of MACC Chief Azam Baki to Parliamentary Select Committee would be a breakthrough in our parliamentary democracy if all powers-that-be abide by the usual checks and balances in a mature democracy. MACC or any institutions could not be made above the democratic system that the nation has cherished.
Not only a parliamentary select committee should be set up to investigate top civil servants and law enforcers involved in any potentially criminal acts, but also an institutional and constitutional reform has to be underway in order to empower the parliament to approve any hire and fire of top civil servants, judiciary and law enforcers than delegating the powers to the Prime Minister office to nominate. This has cultivated abuses of powers by the Executive branch of the government.
Malaysia should learn form the US where appointments and removals of top civil servants have to be vetted and approved by the Senate Standing (permanent) Committee. We should transfer the power of vetting and appointing and removing any top civil servants and judges to legislative than concentrating the power in the hand of one person, that is the Prime Minister. Therefore an institutional and constitutional reform is much needed more than just an ineffectual “reset” of the institutions by scratching the surface of much deeper ailment .
Not only The Whistleblower Protection Act should be enforced to protect civil servants for disclose information of corruption and wrongdoings within the administration , but also an Freedom of Information and Speech legislation should be passed to protect any whistleblowers and public opinion makers from not only criminal incarceration but also undue defamation suits which seemingly have been utilised as a form of white terrorism tp deter the whistleblowers and public opinion makers , who are at a much disadvantaged position as compared to the powers-that-be, from speaking out.
Therefore a new law to restrict undue civil actions against whistleblowers and public opinion makers is one of the most essential reforms to encourage public scrutiny against corruption through freedom of speech and information in order to make our institutional operations more transparent and propel our nation to an advanced and mature democracy.