QUESTION TIME It was a very carefully worded statement by the Conference of Rulers on Oct 6. It started off by expressing concern over anxiety and unease voiced by the people about the credibility and integrity of the government.

It said the discretion of the Malay rulers was sought to help resolve the problems. The rulers went on to stress the need for the government to complete investigations on 1MDB as soon as possible and, if the law was violated, to take action against those involved.

Much of the statement bears repeating. Here are key excerpts:

“The findings of the investigations (into 1MDB) must be reported fully and transparently so that the people are absolutely convinced of the sincerity of the government and that they will not hide facts and the truth.

“It’s feared that failure to provide convincing explanations and answers can result in a crisis of confidence. The result will be that the rakyat will believe that this issue is also among the causes which led to the steep depreciation of the ringgit to negatively impact financial markets and the economic climate while jeopardising world opinion about Malaysia.

“The Malay rulers are concerned that if the issue is not handled wisely, or if the issue is not prolonged or takes up too much time, it could jeopardise the economy and the lives of the rakyat which in turn would jeopardise public order and security.

“Therefore enforcement authorities and regulatory institutions such as the police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Bank Negara Malaysia, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the judiciary and other institutions should fulfil their responsibility transparently, credibly and with integrity.”

The rulers did not stop there. They went on to talk about exploitation of race and religion. “The Malay rulers are very concerned over issues which touch on race and religion and with this remind leaders of political parties and non-governmental organisations not to sensationalise racial or religious issue to gain public support for parties or individuals... harmony and unity must be maintained at all times and cannot ever be sacrificed for shallow political goals.”

That’s really a very wise and sensible statement which no Malaysian can take issue with. But the government has to follow up with concrete, clear moves to give effect to the statement. Now that the impetus for change is there, we should really get cracking.

Cutting corruption and larceny

Here are 10 things the government can declare and do to cut grand corruption and larceny, eliminate abuses of position and power, promote transparency, accountability and good governance, and generally act on behalf of and for the benefit of the people.

The first five have to do with much of what’s been happening in recent times which relate to 1MDB and the RM2.6 billion ‘donation’. The others relate more to ensuring independence of the judiciary and the police - a crucial part of any attempt to bring about equal, fair justice to all. Also, we touch on introducing explicit laws to suppress racial rhetoric. Here goes:

1) A royal commission of inquiry (RCI), composed of people with impeccable integrity, to investigate 1MDB. Such an RCI must be independent, be given the mandate to hire and appoint investigators, have prosecutors on their team, be given powers of prosecution without having to consult the attorney-general, and be provided with all reasonable resources to complete their inquiry.

2. An RCI with similar credible people to investigate the RM2.6 billion so-called donation that went into the prime minister’s account. It should have the same powers as above. As there are allegations that the RM2.6 billion could have come indirectly from 1MDB, this commission could even have the same constituents.

3) Introduce laws to explicitly regulate and set limits on political donations. Now, by any standards RM2.6 billion is a huge ‘donation’. If there are going to be political donations, these must be strictly regulated by law, clearly defined, limits set and be totally transparent. Such laws can be discussed in advance and the form set such that even the opposition will agree to it.

4) Decentralise prosecution powers to independent investigating agencies. This is to ensure that the attorney-general does NOT have the sole power to prosecute - this causes problems when he is suddenly and inexplicably changed.

It may require a change in the constitution but with opposition cooperation it can be done. And within the investigating agencies, power to prosecute should be devolved to the particular team investigating in the case of major probes where prosecutors will also sit on the investigating committee.

5) Introduce laws to guarantee independence of regulatory, enforcement and other institutions. Examples include the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, the Elections Commission, Bank Negara Malaysia, the police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

The easiest way to do this is to ensure that all appointments to institutions are made by a panel of prominent, respectable people and the only way to remove those already appointed is by a judicial review to prove that the heads and key people in the institutions are no longer fit to head them.

6) Introduce laws to guarantee tenure of judges and ensure judicial independence. There should be especially strict provisions against the removal of a judge once appointed and it should only be allowed under exceptional circumstances where a judge is shown to be clearly incapable of carrying out his functions.

7) Make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race and religion. We are not talking here about affirmative action designed to help the poor and disadvantaged from a particular community, or indeed any community, but the blatant use of race and religion to stereotype people, incite hatred and scorn against them, discriminate against them or in any other way treat them badly solely on account of their race and religion.

All Malaysians from all walks of life no matter what their creed, race or religion and station in life must be treated equally under the law.

8) Outlaw all racially derogatory statements. Too many politicians have taken to defending their own race as quick advancement of their political careers and many NGOs have taken the liberty to drive racial and religious wedges between communities. All derogatory statements on race must be clearly outlawed and action taken against those who continue to repeat then. We all know as good Malaysians what they are and so there is no need to repeat them here, although it would be a good idea to include examples in the legislation.

9) Set up an independent commission to monitor police behaviour and ensure their independence. The police is probably the most heavily criticised of our enforcement agencies and often their actions are unexplainable, biased and leaning more towards some groups.

The only way to stop this is to set up the long-mooted but undelivered Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC). This should have not only have powers of investigation but the power to take miscreant cops to court - the power to prosecute. That is the only way to stop police bias, corruption and collusion with the government of the day.

10) Free up the media. Do away with all regulatory constraints over all media, especially licencing for print and broadcast media. Instead let them set up as and when they want and where they want. They are subject to the laws of the country anyway and can be sued for defamation, taken to court for sedition, etc. After nearly 60 years of independence, we don’t need the government to guide us into democracy, of which they are doing a rather poor job.

There are other measures, of course, but I am confident of one thing. If the government announces these measures and sets timelines for their implementation, there will be a much faster recovery in the value of the ringgit and the seeds would have been sown for the onset of a new age of peace and prosperity as we put our diversity to good use.

But whether the government does or not, we, the people, must push for these things and be prepared to punish the ruling party if they continue to deny our very legitimate and reasonable expectations. We have every right to expect a clean, efficient and accountable government responsive to the needs of the rakyat.

P GUNASEGARAM is founding editor of KINIBIZ which produces an online business news portal and a fortnightly print magazine.