A lame-duck royal commission?
Finally the cabinet has announced a royal commission of enquiry (RCI) to probe the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s investigation procedure employed on the late Teoh Beng Hock. The cause of Teoh’s death, however, was left to an inquest in a magistrate’s court.
The move has drawn strong protests from the opposition. Pakatan Rakyat leader Anwar Ibrahim was visibly disturbed by the limited terms of reference of the proposed RCI, calling it a mockery of the people’s wish to find out the truth on Teoh’s death. Indeed, a magistrate’s court does not have the moral authority, the expertise, and the wide powers of the RCI.
Naturally, there are those cynical souls who scoff at the very idea of a royal commission in Malaysia. They doubt whether the RCI can yield any tangible result, and even if the RCI eventually comes up with a set of recommendations, the government will probably ignore them anyway.
Their cynicism may not be unfounded. But we have to understand the function of a royal commission in the first place.
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