COMMENT The Selangor government's Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency or Selcat was formed when Pakatan Rakyat came to power in the state after the 2008 general election.

As its designation suggests, Selcat is meant to be the entrusted body of the Selangor people in the state government, to root out any whiff of corruption or impropriety in the government and in the state.

Throughout the sorry episode in recent months involving the previous menteri besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, allegations and insinuations were made by Pakatan leaders against Khalid justify the 'Kajang Move'.

While Pakatan leaders seemed totally embroiled in their political shenanigans, they overlooked the implications of their political actions on the intended function of good governance institutions they themselves had created when they came to power.

They finally succeeded in getting rid of the previous menteri besar without having to reveal to the people the evidence on which their allegations were based.

They did not even make a police report or send a memorandum to the Malaysian Anti-C orruption Commission (MACC) – the outgoing menteri besar himself made the report for them!

Most unfortunate of all, Selcat did not say a word. Nor did the other members of the State Executive Council, for that matter…

That is costly for the people of Selangor because, if there was questionable conduct by the previous menteri besar, no one has been made accountable for the alleged pilfering of the peoples’ money.

Water deal to be scrutinised as well

Now we have been told that PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim has directed new Selangor Mentri Besar Azmin Ali  to divulge the list of companies that profited from the deals under Khalid.

Among the deals that will come under scrutiny is the water restructuring exercise that Khalid finalised in the last days of his administration.

The federal opposition leader claimed he has discovered companies that were profiting from such deals.

Earlier this month, Khalid cemented Selangor’s water deal with Putrajaya that will allow the state to take over the existing concessionaires and pave way for the federal government to build the Langat 2 treatment plant that was previously opposed by Pakatan.

The allegations against Khalid in the state's water restructuring exercise are among the subjects of the former mentri besar’s defamation lawsuits against PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution.

It is because this is an issue of public interest that Selcat should be the proactive initiator of this public accountability exercise.

Selcat does not need to be coaxed or directed by the new menteri besar or by the PKR de facto leader to spring into action.

We do not live in a feudal system in which a great leader calls the shots, but rather, we have elected a parliamentary democracy with its select committees, including one for competency, accountability and transparency.

Selcat’s work should not be a witch-hunt but an effort to ensure that citizens get what they deserve.

It will be expected to do a thorough job of this investigation and its terms of reference should not be to try to pin a charge on the previous menteri besar but to give the people a full report on the whole water deal to reveal if there were interested parties – not necessarily linked to the previous menteri besar – rooting for any of the water concessionaires.

For all we know, this might well reveal the real motives for the 'Kajang Move'!

The sickening episode over the toppling of the previous menteri besar should be a lesson to Selcat not to be a selective investigator at the beck and call of its political masters but rather, to be an effective watchdog for the people of Selangor.

KUA KIA SOONG is adviser to human rights movement Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram).