Upward journeys for institutional reform
I APOLOGISE profusely to my dear readers – and the editors, of course – for failing to submit an article when one was due two weeks ago.
It is a very rare occurrence in my 16 years as a columnist, and it’s because I injured myself a lile during a cycling event in Jempol, part of the final event in conjunction with the 76th birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan.
That event began at the historical site between the River Serting and River Jempol (a tributary of the Muar), which flow in opposite directions.
It was here that for centuries boats were dragged across to enable quicker access to the interior – and indeed, to cross the peninsula itself, making trade and administration possible.
The stops along the way
– just as with a similar cycling excursion in Terachi two weekends prior – consisted of a mix of other historical sites, local small businesses and government initiatives. Of particular interest was a demonstration of a wedding in a Temuan community, and a dam upon one of the rivers key to supplying water to the state’s urban areas.
Thankfully these were wonderfully educational and stimulating pitstops to what would otherwise have been arduous cycles up hilly – albeit beautiful – terrain. Still, the gradients were enough to remind me that even the slightest incline seems to require significantly more energy to traverse. Although one can see the slope appearing, and can prepare for it by increasing the pace and changing gears, it’s more hard work than it seems.
There seem to be parallels here with the pace of institutional reforms in our country. There are times where we can see what’s coming up, and we can prepare for it, but then it requires an even greater push at that particular time for the reform journey to continue.
Worse, without that determined extra effort, just as with a wheeled object on a hill, it’s possible to slide back down.
The February 6 press statement by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) remarked: “The decision to reduce the sentence [on Dato’ Seri Najib Razak] signals that abuse of power and misappropriation of public funds is easily tolerated,” with CEO Dr Tricia Yeoh pointing out that as the Federal Territories Minister and Aorney General as Pardons Board members are appointed by the Prime Minister, the public may assume that the reprieve would have been considered with agreement from the current political leadership.
Thus, “the decision directly contradicts the Madani government’s commitment to tackling corruption, where the Prime Minister had ambitiously set a target for Malaysia to reach the top 25 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) by 2033. The sentence reduction may, in fact, reverse the positive move Malaysia has most recently achieved in its latest ranking, having moved up four positions to 57th rank.”
Furthermore, the statement continues,
“the decision has serious consequences for an administration that has publicly stated its intentions to implement institutional reforms. This will immediately erode public trust in the government’s ability to uphold its moral position on any maer related to good governance.”
“In addition, this will have negative implications on the perception of the international business community. Among this government’s reform commitments have been the separation of the roles of Aorney General and Public Prosecutor, enacting of the Government Procurement, Freedom of Information, and Political Financing Acts, as well as amending the Whistleblower Protection Act.”
Quite: if we can’t trust the government on this, what about all these other things?
The statement from IDEAS is very mild compared to the reactions from many people who were previously ardent supporters of the Prime Minister and his political coalition, with some declaring that they will no longer support him, at the cost of any alternative that may result.
Everyone expects there to be some level of compromise from politicians, but it is clear that for many, this issue of the pardon is too much to stomach.
Of course, in private conversations, members of the government express their frustrations, and try to explain the immense pressures on them, and aempt to justify their actions as being the lesser of two (or more) evils. This too is a predictable situation.
And yet, it underscores the importance for civil society to remain strong in Malaysia, unbeholden to political pressures and personal loyalties.
Of course it is the aim of think tanks that their ideas translate into policy, and it is hoped that politicians adopt them because they believe in them… and yet, we must accept that sometimes, good policies occur because politicians are just trying to be electable, or even offering a distraction.
Well, there are plenty of good policy proposals available to provide such material!