Ragunath Kesavan said ordinary citizens who voted the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition into power must be given an opportunity to comment on the proposals.
“We should move away from the government’s position that reforms are its sole prerogative and there need not be input from others. The new Malaysia must move from that as change must be inclusive,” he told FMT.
Ragunath was responding to the five-member committee for institutional reforms submitting its recommendations to the Council of Eminent Persons, the government’s top advisory council, two weeks ago.
FMT understands that a copy was also extended to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Since then, there has been no word from Putrajaya on its position regarding the recommendations and whether the entire report will be made public.
Ragunath said members of the public were entitled to know the contents of the report as they expected transparency and accountability from the new government.
He said when the prime minister took power, he had promised to uphold the rule of law and kept repeating the legal concept that there would be equality in applying the laws.
Ragunath said the proposals could be further fine-tuned with suggestions from public discussions involving elected representatives, opposition parties and civil society.
Committee member Ambiga Sreenevasan earlier said it had proposed that either the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) be revamped or an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) be established as a substitute.
The IPCMC was proposed in 2005 by a royal commission to enhance the operation and management of the police force.
The Malaysian Bar has been pushing for the IPCMC to be set up, but the police have objected to it on grounds that the police force should not be singled out for action resulting from public complaints.
Another committee member and legal consultant Mah Weng Kwai previously said that the reforms group was also looking into whether government agencies should be answerable to Parliament.
“All reforms are targeted to create a corruption-free society with integrity. Once those are in place, others will be happy to come and invest because they know the system is good,” he had said.
The committee, led by former judge KC Vohrah, was set up in May to look into the reform of important government agencies that had been the subject of political controversy.
These include the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Election Commission and the police.
Police, media among 8 key sectors for reforms, says Putrajaya committee