Published by Malay Mail, image from Malay Mail.
The ushering in of the new administration under Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as the eighth prime minister has invited various conflicting views across Malaysia.
Nonetheless, it could perhaps present an opportunity for further enhancing the capacity of our institutions.
These are a non-politicised civil service; a Parliament which embodies the dynamics of check-and-balance; and not least, an independent judiciary.
The various stakeholders, therefore, have a duty and role to play in advancing the case for further and meaningful reforms of these institutions to take place under the new government.
If our politicians and politics have become so identified with personal interests and agenda above that of the rakyat, then it’s time for a reprioritisation.
What better way, therefore, than to focus on building up (capacity building) the venerable institutions of the State.
We must ensure that even when politicians let us down and despite them, the institutions will continue to be non-partisan, independent and serve the nation professionally, objectively and with the utmost dedication as expected.
All political parties — government and opposition — as well as civil society must prioritise and promote this case in concert or in various capacities.
Perhaps there should be a National Strategy for Institutional Reforms which picks up where the previous Pakatan Harapan government had hitherto left off rather abruptly (whether through their own fault or not is another story best left to better qualified people to discuss).
More to the point, the new administration should not shy away or shirk from implementing deeper reforms than as had been envisaged by previously.
Pakatan Harapan was plagued by lack of internal cohesion relating to the succession issue. It would seem that this government is free from such imbroglios.
At the core is, of course, a Malay-Muslim dominant government. That said, if done correctly so to speak, such a government could still be a force to be reckoned with in terms of reforms, particularly of the kind yearned for by the majority of non-Muslim voters.
In fact, one could go even further by daring to hope and dream that this government — comprising mainly conservative-minded Malay-Muslims — would liberalise our political and democratic system by opening more space for dissent and participation.
Now, with no credibility issue (i.e. among the larger base within the Malay-Muslim populace, particularly outside of the urban states) in terms of political identity and ideology, this government should have no problem carrying out the much-needed reforms to our institutions.
That is, it is not envisaged that Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin would encounter hardline resistance and roadblocks along the way by the “deep state” (at the higher level) or little Napoleons (at the lower level).
So, specifically, what should or could our new government do?
Give it a distinctive flavour as part of its rebranding and leaving behind a lasting and cherished legacy despite its composition.
One focus that should be on the cards is on building up the administrative as well as operational capacity of the institutions.
Just to pick on one example of institutional reforms, let us look only at the civil service:
There should be a Bill which, inter alia, addresses the abuse of government machinery and resources during general elections and by-elections.
It should be a criminal offence for a public official (politician) and/ or officer (civil servant) to abuse State apparatus for party political use.
The common law ground of the private law of tort of misfeasance should be expanded beyond merely abusing the power. In a legal system based on the rule of law, executive or administrative power may be exercised only for the public good and not for ulterior and improper purposes.
It is already an offence under our Election Offences Act (1954) for political parties engage in vote inducement. The relevant provisions are section 8 (treating), section 9 (undue influence), and section 10 (bribery).
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act (2009) also applies. So, the Bill should strengthen, complement, supplement and enhance the existing laws.
Consideration should also be given to empowering civil servants in the public procurement decision-making process including the decision itself.
Politicians whether chief ministers/mentri besars or ministers at federal level should not be chairing the contract award process.
Instead, they should be playing the role of (checking-and-balancing” in) ensuring that all contracts awarded are done properly and in good order so that there is transparency and accountability.
This is analogous to the second rater/reviewer in performance management or external auditor in an audit process.
The entirety of the civil service should be free from any form of political affiliation. Civil servants — from superscale grade officers (Jusa) to lower-grade officers — should never be allowed under the law to be a member of a political party.
And salary, allowances and emoluments of civil servants should be determined by a royal commission/ independent council answerable entirely only to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
An audit should be done once every two to three years. This is to establish and assess whether political interference had taken — analogous to the Auditor General’s Annual Report.
A benchmark, performance management review and KPIs should also be established which looks at political exposure and interference much in the same way as effectiveness and productivity and goal achievements.
Bodies such as Institut Integriti Malaysia (IIM) alongside the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC) could play a pivotal role in this regard.
The relevant Acts of Parliament must be clear and contain specific provisions that “entrench” Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) between politicians and civil servants.
It is not enough to have a “one-off” legislation in the form of the Public Service Bill.
And perhaps calls ought to also be made for the need or imperative to amend or insert into our Constitution basic provisions that entrench SOP between politicians and civil servants.
There you have it. Five recommendations on institutional building by looking at just the civil service.
Hopefully our government realises that while it may have the solid backing of the parties claiming to represent the majority ethnic community, it still has to earn its mandate afresh.
Here, renewing the mandate means staying the course and go even further than envisioned.
Pipe dream?
Perhaps.
At least, all reforms, even those deemed impossible to achieve in one’s lifetime, begins with a dream.
Jason Loh Seong Wei is Head of Social, Law & Human Rights at EMIR Research, an independent think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research.
