IN 2017, Malaysia was ranked 62nd out of 180 countries in the Global Corruption Perception Index (CPI). More worryingly, Malaysia’s CPI score fell by 2 points, from 49 in 2016 to 47 in 2017. This index uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 refers to a highly corrupt regime and 100 a clean one.

Malaysia may have ranked among the top 3 out of the ASEAN countries in the CPI index, but we still fared poorly compared to neighbouring countries such as Singapore and Brunei, who have improved their CPI scores tremendously in recent years.

In Malaysia, the key anti-corruption authority is the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).  It is refreshing to hear that the Pakatan Harapan government is taking steps to overhaul the Prime Minister’s Department by allowing MACC to operate as an independent entity which reports directly to Parliament. Yet, there are still some crucial areas which require reform if we are serious in our campaign against corruption.

One such area is the Freedom of Information Act (FIA), an important piece of anti-corruption legislation. The FIA empowers citizens to access government records in an open and transparent manner and hold the government to public account. Without this gateway to access vital data information, there is no way to know whether our leaders have done things right and lawfully, and if there is any doubt in mismanagement, abuse of power and corruption cases.

The FIA also affects the participation of civil society in collective decision-making and assists in aiding the legitimacy of democratically-elected governments. One of Transparency International’s top five recommendations is to encourage the government to protect citizens’ rights to free speech, a free and independent media, and tolerance of political dissent.

At the moment, the FIA as a legal provision is only offered in Penang and Selangor. In these states, citizens have the right to obtain information owned by the respective state governments.  Yet, the effectiveness of these enactments at the state level is still limited, especially given the continuing existence of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) at the federal level.

With the OSA, any information can be classified as confidential if the government deems it to be sensitive due to national security. This can obstruct the free flow of information of genuine public interest (but not necessarily security-related) – even in Penang and Selangor.

It is high time to enact an FIA, and abolish the OSA.  Even if the Government does not want to abolish the OSA, it should at least amend it and limit the scope of topics that can be classified as confidential. Doing so would not only add value to the transparency of the current government, but also balance the power relationship between civil society and the government and enable civil society to effectively hold government institutions to account.

Besides the FOI, efforts to strengthen anti-corruption in Malaysia would be incomplete without reforms to the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 and Witness Protection Act 2009. According to a policy paper published by the Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs, both acts fail to provide adequate protection to whistleblowers and witnesses.

News of whistleblowers being arrested and punished discourages members of civil society to highlight instances of corruption, especially of those in government office. To address this, current laws need to be improved, for instance, the identities of whistleblowers must be kept strictly confidential, and their personal safety ensured at all costs. Such reforms would encourage more to come forward and disclose corruption, as they no longer have to fear persecution.

An effective Malaysian anti-corruption mechanism cannot depend on the MACC as the sole gatekeeper. The government should allow for true freedom of information to promote a culture of transparency, and enforce whistleblower laws that increase both the confidence and willingness of civil society to play their role as citizen watchdogs. – October 2, 2018.

* Esther Sinirisan Chong is a member of Agora Society. She was born and raised in the Land Below the Wind. Her research interest lies in education and government policies, and the history and heritage of East Malaysia.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.