Kuala Lumpur, 23 May 2022: The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) welcomes the government’s plan to institutionalise the principles of good governance through the MyGovernance plan. However, this calls into question the status of the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) which was launched in 2019. With the development of MyGovernance, does it mean that the NACP has now been abandoned?

“It is crucial that an important document like the NACP be consistently implemented, monitored and measured for effectiveness. The NACP is Malaysia’s most comprehensive document that outlines clear and time-bound goals to end corruption and restore trust in our institutions. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. In fact, more efforts should be put into implementation as well as measuring and tracking success. GIACC published one progress report and one mid-term review of the NACP so far – these practices should continue until all the initiatives are achieved,” says Tricia Yeoh, CEO of IDEAS.         

“However, IDEAS welcomes the renewed priority that has been given to a Political Financing Act, which we have repeatedly called for. As the official Secretariat for the Parliament-approved All Party Parliamentary Group on Political Financing, we are firmly committed to providing the research and support to the government in its plans to enact a law that ensures a level playing field. On that note, we urge that transparent disclosure of donations and expenditure, public funding and an independent regulatory body be included into the Act.”

“The Prime Minister also announced that a detailed study will be carried out on the separation of the Attorney General’s and Public Prosecutor’s roles. IDEAS has published a paper on this topic in 2016, which we are happy to share with the government as they are developing this key reform to one of Malaysia’s most important institutions.”

“We look forward to consultations with civil society, think tanks and external stakeholders to ensure MyGovernance and its important proposals on Political Financing and the separation of powers between the Attorney General and Public Prosecutor, amongst others, are finally seen through”, concluded Yeoh.

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Loius Denis, Manager, External Relations
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