TI-M president Raymon Ram said each government has introduced its own strategic roadmap, including the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP).
The GTP was introduced during former prime minister Najib Razak’s administration and the NACP during Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s second stint as prime minister.
Raymon said there is often a troubling disconnect between successive reform blueprints and the institutional foundations laid before them.
“The challenge we face is not a lack of plans — but a lack of continuity, coordination and sustained commitment,” Raymon said in a statement.
“We cannot afford to restart the integrity agenda every time a new administration takes office. There must be consistent implementation, evaluation and ownership of reforms across political cycles. The people deserve nothing less.”
On Wednesday, Perak ruler Sultan Nazrin Shah had also expressed regret over the “disheartening gap” between the objectives outlined in the National Integrity Plan and their success, some 21 years after the initiative was launched.
Sultan Nazrin said crimes linked to corruption, criminal breach of trust, the leakage of public resources, cronyism and abuse of power were reported on an almost daily basis.
He added that the annual Auditor-General’s Report continued to expose serious weaknesses in the management of public funds, both failures to comply with financial standards and regulations as well as questionable practices.
Raymon acknowledged the positive legislative reforms taken, including the 2025 amendment to the Whistleblower Protection Act. However, he said that one good law could not fix a broken system.
“Isolated reforms without a clear, coherent strategy will not change the culture of impunity.”
He placed emphasis on the need for a comprehensive, coordinated national reform strategy that addresses core structural gaps and institutional weaknesses, with priority for reforms such as beneficial ownership transparency as well as public procurement and financing laws.
Raymon said other reforms, like the enactment of a freedom of information law, setting up of an independent ombudsman office and creating robust deferred prosecution agreements, must also be prioritised.
“TI-M notes that several of these reforms have already been discussed, with some legislative groundwork laid. However, successive administrations must align efforts rather than reset them.
“We cannot afford for each reform cycle to begin with tearing down what came before. Malaysia’s anti-corruption architecture must be built like a fortress — brick by brick, not blueprint by blueprint.”