Malaysia plans to set up an ombudsman

Categories: Malaysia

The Malaysian government plans to set an ombudsman to look into complaints against the government officials and agencies. The plan is now in the Attorney-General’s Chambers to look into the legal aspect before being sent to the Parliament for rectification. This is indeed welcome if the Government is trying to regain some credibility. How effective it eventually will be will need to be seen.

I am most sceptical because of the recent rejection of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) by the Inspector-General of Police. This was despite the acceptance of the Internal Security Minister who is also the Prime Minister. Till today, this clear case of subordination had not been completely dealth with. The IGP has still not been replaced and the IPCMC not created. If a commision to foresee a branch of the government machinery, in this case the Police, cannot be implemented, is there any chance that a commision to overlook the full spectrum of the government machinery materialised?

Moreover, Malaysia already has a lot of agencies and rulings to check abuses and corruptions in the government. If the ombudsman is going to be another toothless agency with no clearly defined power, then we are only back to square one. What we do need is to further strengthen any existing rules and laws and tighten its implementations. Laws are useless if they are not properly implemented. Somehow, along the way, such agencies tends to loss their directions.

In the event that the ombudsman does eventually materialised, it must be seen to be neutral. It should not be staff by government people but by members of the Bar, retired senior civil servants and NGO's. It's aim and function must be clearly defined and is given enough power to see it through various political and bureaucratic obstacles when conducting investigations. The government itself must be willing to accept any findings for any eventual disciplinary actions and prosecutions if need be.

Forming an ombudsman is the way to go for the Malaysian government to regain some confidence with the people. If its noble intentions are carried out to the fullest, then I am sure Malaysia will achieve it Wawasan 2020 vision. However if along the way, it looses its aim, then the ombudsman will just be one of the many toothless, fund-wasting agencies that forms one of the many problems the country faces.