PRIME Minister Anwar Ibrahim has been very vocal and adamant in combating corruption. Likewise, the unity government has promised to look into and is open to views on placing the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) under the purview of parliament.

Transparency International Malaysia pointed out in a statement and urged the government to consider the proposal of presenting MACC’s annual report directly to parliament.

Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim suggested this, deeming the move necessary to address corruption in our country.

This urgency came about after parliament for the first time in history brought forth the Auditor-General’s Report for the year 2021 and the Human Rights Commission annual report, which was presented and debated in parliament.

Section 14(1) of the MACC Act 2009 states that there shall be a Special Committee on Corruption, which shall exercise the function of advising the prime minister on corruption issues, examine the annual report of the commission, and seek clarification and comments from the advisory board.

Given the fact the report obtained by MACC must go through three stages for it to finally be presented to the prime minister for parliamentary submission, this will slow down its efficiency.

Parliament, via its standing orders, allows the committee to table and debate the annual report. Standing order 83(12)(a)–(c) states that the select committee mentions any report for its consideration, and such report shall be proposed in order until one is accepted as the basis of discussion and eventually proceeds to debate under standing order 35.

This allows parliament to directly engage with the select committee in examining and tackling the core issue of addressing corruption in our country.  

So, is the unity government willing to shift from its traditional approach that involves layers of bureaucracy to a straightforward one? – July 2, 2023.

* Matilda George reads The Malaysian Insight.

* 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.