The Institutional Reforms Committee (IRC) is looking to implement reforms within the country to prevent another incident like the 1MDB financial scandal from ever happening again.

“We are not looking at the 1MDB case per se. We are looking at institutional reforms of the MACC and other agencies, like the police and the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).

“We are looking at all that because we don’t want to have another 1MDB ever again in this country,” IRC member Ambiga Sreenevasan said.

Ambiga was speaking to reporters after the IRC briefed the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) at Ilham Tower in Kuala Lumpur today. 

The aim of the IRC, she said, is to eventually create a society with zero tolerance for corruption and to create strong institutions that serve the needs of the people with integrity.

"The biggest issue is corruption, without a doubt, and also appointing the right people to these institutions. That is the priority," she said.

Retired Court of Appeal judge and fellow member of the IRC, Mah Weng Kwai, said once a corruption-free society is achieved, it would naturally attract more investors to Malaysia.

Another IRC member and Universiti Malaya law professor Shad Saleem Faruqi, who is focusing on parliamentary reforms, said the reforms might not directly affect the investment climate in the country.

"But surely all reforms are integrated and once proper principles, institutions and procedures are reformed, all in all, it could help the economy as well," he said.

Among other reforms they are looking at include the judiciary, forming the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), revamping the appointment structure of government agencies, and abolishing certain oppressive laws like the Sedition Act and the Anti-Fake News Act.

The IRC was set up a day after the formation of the CEP, and they were given a 60-day deadline to propose recommendations on institutional reforms to the CEP.

The other two members of the IRC are retired Court of Appeal judge KC Vohrah and Persatuan Patriot Kebangsaan (Patriot) president and retired brigadier general Mohd Arshad Raji.