The think tank said while the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) plan was good, political will was needed to ensure its success.
It also said if PH had not won the general election, such reforms might have been “elusive”.
IDEAS’ senior executive in democracy and governance Aira Azhari said in a statement the NACP launched yesterday by the prime minister presented an honest, hard-hitting and forward-looking strategy for Malaysia to combat corruption in the next five years.
Dr Mahathir Mohamad had, in his speech during the launch, said political interference in government administration and finances was one of the key causes of rampant corruption and this is reflected in the NACP’s identification of “political governance” as the first risk area.
Another key highlight from the NACP is that procurement is the sector most prone to corruption.
Aira said: “It takes a great deal of maturity for the Pakatan Harapan government to admit that political interference in government processes has been one of the core causes of corruption in the country.
“If we did not have a change in government on May 9, this self-reflection would not have been possible, and the willingness to reform will remain elusive. In relation to that, the revelation about procurement being the main sector prone to corruption also points to a larger debate about the need to re-examine practices of patronage, cronyism and conflicts of interest in government projects.”
Aira said while the introduction of new legislation was commendable, there was a greater need to enhance transparency, accountability and reduce political interference in the government’s decision-making.
“Of particular importance are policies to refrain political interference in the appointments of the senior management in GLCs, serious reforms in public services and Parliament, as well as the legal and judicial system.”
She said Malaysia’s experience in the last 60 years had proven that without a significant shift in the entire political culture, recommendations on paper would not go very far.
Another important component of combatting corruption is also educating the general public about the roles of their elected representatives.
“The extensive use of money to win votes is exacerbated by expectations from voters to receive financial rewards in exchange for political support. This practice must be curtailed through a sustained public education programme, which is covered as well in the NACP. This is a positive sign and there will hopefully be strong political will to implement these plans.”