PM: Complaints bureau to function as ombudsman

PUTRAJAYA: An Ombudsman Act is to be formulated to change the function of the Public Complaints Bureau to that of an ombudsman to ensure more effective management of public complaints in the country, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday.

The Prime Minister said the Ombudsman Malaysia was to ensure that government departments did not engage in malpractices or get involved in corruption.

“If there is a complaint against a government department and a solution is not found to rectify the situation, the matter will be raised with the ombudsman.

“The ombudsman is independent and not placed under the prime minister or ministers,” he said at a press conference after chairing a meeting of the Special Cabinet Committee on Anti-Corruption at Perdana Putra here.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Liew Viu Keong and the chairman of the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC), Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed, were also present at the press conference.

Dr Mahathir also said that the meeting agreed that the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) be empowered and be known as the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).

The IPCMC would function as an independent and more holistic monitoring body, he said.

“There are many complaints about the police and we will try to clean up the police force and ensure that the policemen get good treatment and, at the same time, they should ensure that they themselves are clean,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said the meeting also agreed with a proposal for the GIACC agencies to ensure that policies and planning related to governance, integrity and anticorruption were implemented effectively. The Malaysian Institute of Integrity, placed under the GIACC, would function as an operating body to build the capacity and competency of government and corporate agencies, he said.

Dr Mahathir said the Department of National Integrity and Good Governance would be absorbed into the GIACC and the matter would be discussed with the Public Service Department, taking into consideration the government's savings aspect.

“Just to consolidate, not have too many agencies,” he said. Bernama