Institutional reforms more vital than toll abolishment
FINALLY, the Pakatan Harapan government has admitted that it is not able to fulfil its pre-election pledge of abolishing tolls. For ordinary folk, it will not go down well, for now.
However, the new government has to make up for its missed promise on tolls with a bigger promise – to reform and revamp institutions to keep corruption and the mismanagement of public funds in check.
This is because the cost of corruption to the nation is much more than the cost of removing toll boothes along the highways.
The epitome of corruption, abuse of power and mismanagement of public funds in the last nine years is 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB). It has racked up debts of RM32bil and the interest-servicing cost alone comes up to RM1.8bil per year.
The last of the 1MDB bonds mature in 2039 and by that time, taxpayers would have forked out just about RM51bil in interest and principal payments to settle its due.
The irony is that the cost of removing the existing tolls is about RM50bil. If only our institutions that run the country were well managed with a proper governance structure, we would have less toll roads in the country.
However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for Malaysia, as there seems to be genuine resolve to see through institutional reforms within the next two years. Ironically, this is also the time Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has given himself to govern the country before he hands over the reins to a successor.
By then, he would be 95 years old and it is not humanly possible to keep up his hectic pace of life as he manages the country.
Dr Mahathir appears to know this and is increasingly showing a tendency to bring about institutional reforms in the next two years. It is evident from the mid-term review of the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP MTR) that talks about plans from now till 2020.
The cornerstone of the 11MP MTR is not on economic growth or where the money is going to be spent in the next two years until 2020. On the contrary, it sheds light on institutional reforms to be carried out in the next two years.
It dives into the much-needed reinforcement of laws to see that there is check and balance between the three arms of the government – the executive, the judiciary and the legislature.
To put it in layman’s terms, it means separating the powers of the attorney-general (AG) and the public prosecutor, among others. It means making Parliament independent and allowing for the setting up of select committees that would oversee the executive, commonly known as the public sector.
The parliamentary select committees will also screen potential candidates to head key government institutions such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC), the Election Commission, the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) and the National Audit Department.
The head of these institutions will only be answerable to the Parliament and the agency will also be under the purview of the Parliament.
At the moment, the MACC and the AG are generally answerable to the prime minister, although the official appointments come from the King.
As for the judiciary, a key issue with the current structure is the high concentration of power in the hands of the AG, who also acts as the public prosecutor. To make matters worse, the prime minister can remove the AG if there is a threat to his position
In the next two years, the plan calls for the role of the AG and public prosecutor to be separated and the duties to be executed by two different people. This is to help ensure justice is carried out with less political interference.
The AG is essentially the legal adviser to the government and acts in the best interest of the government of the day and the leader, who is the prime minister.
The proposed reform is for the public prosecutor, who now comes under the AG, to be independent, appointed by a parliamentary select committee and who can only be sacked by Parliament.
Ironically, Dr Mahathir was implicated in one of the early cases, which drew scrutiny on the high concentration of power in the hands of the AG.
In the late 1980s, Lim Kit Siang sought for Dr Mahathir, who was the prime minister and Umno president then, to be investigated in the awarding of the contract to build the North-South Highway to UEM Bhd. Lim also sought to stop the award to UEM, a company closely linked to Umno then.
More recently, in July 2015, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak removed Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail as AG after he was close to firming up charges of corruption in relation to funds from 1MDB.
Apart from the removal of Abdul Gani, there were sweeping changes to the top leadership of the MACC in 2016.
The reforms in the judiciary are to see that the roles of the AG and the public prosecutor are played by two different people, and the public prosecutor, who has the sole authority to prosecute cases, be accountable only to Parliament. This means that even the prime minister can be investigated and prosecuted.
There are many models on the separation of powers between the AG and the public prosecutor. All of them have their advantages and disadvantages. But one thing is certain – the current system cannot continue and reforms must be made soon.
Education is another area that needs reforms. When Dr Mahathir retired as prime minister in 2003, he put in place a rule for mathematics and science to be taught in English.
However, the subsequent prime minister – Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi – wilted under pressure from Malay NGOs and eventually it became an option and was confined to only secondary schools in 2009.
Today, there are some parents who regret the government’s backpedalling, as technology – where English is the medium of conversation – increasingly commands a bigger influence on the economy.
Other major reforms to be undertaken in the next two years involve the lowering of the voting age to 18, limiting the prime minister, mentri besar and chief ministers’ terms in office to not more than two terms, and for the prime minister and others to declare their assets to the MACC and their sources of income be investigated.
The cost of corruption to Malaysia is huge and much more than the cost of removing the tolls along the highways.
To get an idea of the astronomical cost of corruption, just look at the 45 charges slapped on Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the sum of RM113mil involved.
There are many more instances of corruption and the cost to the nation has run into hundreds of millions over the years.
Moreover, the toll rate on the North-South Expressway has not been revised since 2008. Assuming a simple inflation rate of 2% per annum, effectively, the toll rates are down by 20%.
So, it really is a no-brainer as to what to hold the Dr Mahathir-led Pakatan Harapan government accountable for the next two years. There must be continuous pressure to see that the institutional reforms are made, as promised.
Institutional reforms will initiate economic reforms. An efficient, corruption-free regime attracts capital. An influx of capital brings about a whole slew of economic benefits to the people.
Removing tolls completely is not possible. A reduction of rates in the future is possible, but the economic returns from institutional reforms are much greater.