The JONP was first proposed to the state government by the national governance, integrity and anti-corruption centre (GIACC) last year and will be chaired by state exco member Mohd Soffi Abdul Razak.

Menteri besar Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said JONP would investigate complaints of corruption, abuse of power, malpractice and violations of the code of conduct and ethics of organisations involving the state civil service which cannot be resolved at the departmental or agency level.

“JONP will also examine the results of the investigations, feedback on complaints and make decisions,” he was quoted as saying by Utusan Malaysia.

“It is also responsible for considering and approving any recommendations and suggestions to improve the management of misconduct complaints related to the integrity of state civil servants,” he added.

Wan Rosdy said the integrity unit under the state secretary’s office had been appointed the JONP secretariat and would meet regularly to address issues under its jurisdiction.

Apart from Soffi, other members of the committee would include the state legal adviser, the director of the state audit department, the director of the state Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission branch, the head of the state’s integrity unit, and the head of the internal audit unit at the state secretary’s office.

Wan Rosdy added that JONP was based on the model adopted by the Sarawak state government, which was a pioneer among the state and federal governments in introducing and implementing such an ombudsman.