THE Institutional Reforms Committee (IRC) is looking to eradicate corruption in all its forms and not just funds misappropriation and power abuse, said committee member Mah Weng Kwai.

The committee has zoomed in on seven institutions where corruption and political interference are entrenched, he said, in its fifth and final report which is being prepared for submission to the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) next month.

“We not just looking at corruption from a financial aspect but in other areas as well – because every institution is facing issues of corruption and political interference,” he told The Malaysian Insight recently.

The seven institutions under scrutiny are Parliament, the judiciary, police, Attorney-General’s Chambers, Election Commission, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, Mah said.

“The various institutions all face a common problem which is corruption within the organisation.These reforms are aimed at fighting that and ensuring there is zero tolerance towards corruption.”

Mah, who is a human rights commissioner, said the IRC had met with the representatives of various institutions and communities. 

The last meeting was held yesterday and the IRC is preparing its final report.

“We have been sending interim reports to the CEP. In our third report we made five recommendations to the CEP.”

He said he could not reveal what the recommendations were at this time, but said the IRC was looking at a few last few issues before presenting its final report.

The last few issues are “local council elections, the death penalty, and caning”.

The IRC’s fifth and final report will be submitted to the CEP chaired by Daim Zainuddin, by mid-July. The CEP will then present its report on the IRC’s recommendations to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“That is when many more recommendations will be made. How many we don’t know yet as it is a work in progress.”

Once its final report is submitted, the IRC will be deemed to have completed its work.

Besides Mah, the committee consists of four more members who are Hakam president Ambiga Sreenevasan, retired judge of the Court of Appeal K.C. Vohrah, National Patriots Association president Brigadier-General (Retired) Mohamed Arshad Raji, and Universiti Malaya law professor Shad Saleem Faruqi. – June 26, 2018.

* This article has been amended to correct two facts: that the Auditor-General is not one of the seven key institutions, and that it is not known what will happen to the committee or if its members’ services will still be required after the IRC’s term ends in mid-July.