Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's grand launching of the National Integrity Plan (NIP) as the master plan to fight corruption reminds me of his recent launching of the royal commission to overhaul the ailing police force - another hollow treatment that will not cure the illness.

In the police royal commission case, I alluded to its predicted failure as akin to an advanced cancer patient being given a general check-up, instead of cancer-specific tests and treatment. In the present NIP, I would characterise it as a non-starter - the same cancer patient being treated by cancer specialists who are dispossessed of surgical knives and cancer fighting drugs.

The NIP is praiseworthy for its eloquent expressions of lofty ideals, but we are not talking to a bunch of innocent school kids here. We are dealing with villains who have grown and multiplied like cancerous cells and sickened our society to the core. So where are the weapons in the NIP that can deal a deadly blow to these villains?

The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) should be the kingpin in the drive to rid us of corruption. Unfortunately, it is a caged lame duck. Nay, worse than that - it has not only failed to fight corruption but has actually promoted corruption, in the sense that it has provided camouflage to shield the corrupt leaders in the ruling clique from prosecution.

Nowhere in the NIP can we find any move to restore decency to this agency as a genuine graft buster. If Abdullah is serious and sincere about cleansing his government of corruption, his top priority would be to thoroughly reconstitute the ACA, for which the following three steps are essential:

a) Give independence to the ACA by making it report to Parliament.

b) Give prosecution power to the ACA. At the moment, the ACA merely serves as an investigation agency for the attorney-general who has absolute discretion whether to prosecute or not to prosecute.

c) Let the head of ACA be selected by an independent commission constituted by publicly acclaimed persons of high integrity.

A simple act by Abdullah to revamp the ACA along the above lines would have been worth more than a billion words of beautiful rhetoric in the NIP.

Another indication that the NIP is a humbug is the fact it pays no attention to the vital role played by a free press in combating corruption. It is generally recognised that a vibrant press is the ultimate watchdog against corruption and abuse of power by the high and mighty.

Sad to say, the Malaysian press is world renowned for its total subservience and sycophancy to the ruling party, brought about by repressive laws and regulations. If Abdullah is serious about wiping out corruption, the minimum he should do is abolish or amend the Official Secrets Act and the Printing Presses and Publications Act. At least then, journalists can at least honestly report misdeeds in high places without fearing arbitrary reprisals.

In fact a two-pronged strategy of empowering an independent ACA and freeing the press to expose corruption could have been the most powerful warring plan Abdullah could have adopted for his present anti-corruption campaign.

Sadly, none of this is even mentioned in his plan. So how can we be blamed when we see the NIP as just another sandiwara (stage play) in Abdullah's series of road-shows?

Finally, opposition leader Lim Kit Siang has proposed that our parliament and state assemblies keep a registry to record the assets of elected representatives and their next-of-kin. This should be open to public scrutiny, as practiced in other democracies such as the UK and New Zealand.

It is not difficult to implement this idea. Though it is only a small step towards transparency, it will nevertheless be an encouraging gesture if elected representatives make an honest effort to comply. Is there any reason why the prime minister should not take up this suggestion?