COMMENT | In his speech on Jan 5, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the government intends to pass laws to separate the powers of the attorney-general and public prosecutor, limit the prime minister’s tenure to two terms, for a Freedom of Information Act, and for an Ombudsman’s Act for public complaints.

While his announcement on legal reform is welcome despite its lateness, much will depend on the wording of the legislation to ensure it is in line with the spirit of reform to curb corruption and abuse of power.

To illustrate my point, let’s take the watered-down Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC) Act passed in July 2022 under an Umno government.

It was a transformation of the earlier Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Act proposed in 2018 under Pakatan Harapan, and conceived as far back as Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s term as premier in 2003.

Since IPCC’s inception in July 2023 - the Madani government...