I have no choice but to feel quite cynical after reading all the details of the proposed new Malaysian Commission on Anti-Corruption (MCAC), Pak Lah’s farewell attempt to leave behind a legacy that will attempt to rid the country of corruption.

Since there are only about four months left before Pak Lah hands over to Najib Abdul Razak, the prime minister-in-waiting,, I simply wonder whether there will be enough time for the bill to go through every stage in Parliament.

It has to go through all the three stages at the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara and especially at the most important committee stage where the bill will be scrutinised word for word, clause for clause, and finally to the Istana Negara for the King’s’s signature and then only will it be gazetted to become law.

If Pak Lah rushes the whole bill through Parliament without lengthy discussions, then it will certainly become a bad law, full of flaws and deficiencies. I wonder why Pak Lah did not push this bill through soon after taking office five years ago.

If the process is not completed during Pak Lah’s remaining time, then it will have to be completed by Najib, who (we hope) would have the same conviction and passion to fight and eradicate corruption.

God forbid that Najib would adopt a philosophy that corruption, in moderation, is not really a bad thing. In fact, Dr Mahathir Mohamad is believed to hold the opinion that corruption can expedite economic growth because corruption does get things done, never mind about integrity or the escalating costs to the taxpayer.

We have to bear in mind that if Pak Lah could cancel several projects which brought on the wrath of Mahathir, Najib who will come in with a different crew, will certainly display his own style and cancel some programmes like this new MCAC.

Still, the way I see it, the new MCAC, which is supposed to be independent and be only responsible to Parliament, is going to be bogged down by its committees and advisory panels.

This means there is going to be a lot of ‘discussion’ before a high-profile case can be brought to a court of law.

First, why should there be a committee to advise the prime minister? Then there is also the Anti -Corruption Advisory Committee to advise the MCAC.

If the new MCAC is to come under a parliamentary committee, why can’t it be just that without any interference from the executive, the attorney-general, etc? The MCAC should have all the manpower and the resources to do its job by itself.

In so far as prosecution is concerned, the MCAC could even enlist the best attorneys in the private sector to handle high-profile and highly technical cases.

At the end of the day, the fight against corruption needs a lot of political will and the changing of the cultural mindset of the people.

As of now, just ask all the Class F contractors, the architects, the government suppliers etc, how many jobs that they get are obtained through open tenders sans lobbies, etc.

Sometimes I wonder why the late Justice Harun Hashim, the man who set up the Anti-Corruption Agency was so effective and successful in his job and in putting the fear into the hearts of the civil servants and businessmen.