Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism executive director Cynthia Gabriel said that it too has been calling for similar reforms.
“We are glad that politicians in Pakatan Harapan recognise that these good governance mechanisms are essential features of a functioning democracy.
“But the opposition coalition must not just ride with this to win the elections but instead make such proposals actionable,” Gabriel said.
Yesterday, PH released a set of five core steps to curb corruption in Malaysia.
The anti-graft drive, themed “Bersihkan Malaysia dari Najis Rasuah” (Cleaning up Malaysia from the Scourge of Corruption), aims to make Malaysia one of the least corrupt countries in the world by 2030.
Gabriel said the five core steps are in line with the good governance agenda of the Governance Integrity Accountability Transparency (GIAT), which was launched in July 2017, in view of the next general election (GE14).
GIAT comprises C4 Centre, Sinar Project, Transparency International-Malaysia, and Friends of Kota Damansara, myPJ and Proham.
Gabriel said GIAT wants the government to take real and effective measures to address the systemic roots of corruption.
“Such measures are having a truly independent Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), ensuring transparency on funding to political parties, enacting freedom of information laws, and ensuring mandatory asset declaration for politicians and public officials,” she said.
She added that GIAT also recommends the independence of the Attorney-General’s Chambers, and greater direct civic participation in governance.
Gabriel also believed that having these important checks and balances will help bring back the rule of law and end the culture of impunity.
“It is disappointing that none of the Barisan Nasional leaders have spoken about better governance and stamping out graft and the culture of impunity.
“We see none of these being uttered under Prime Minister Najib Razak’s National Transformation 2050 (TN50), such reforms should be put immediately on the table.”