PETALING JAYA: An independent selection process free of political interests, including from the Prime Minister, is key to establishing an effective ombudsman’s office, say stakeholders.
The ombudsman must also be granted investigative powers and the authority to summon witnesses and demand documents from civil service departments, they said.
It must also be allowed to enter any government premises without having to give prior notice, said Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism’s (C4) chief executive officer Pushpan Murugiah.
“The ombudsman must be allowed access to all necessary persons and documents to facilitate investigations,” Pushpan said when asked about the progress in setting up the institution in Malaysia.
“Additionally, structural safeguards must be in place to ensure the autonomy of the ombudsman,” he said.
C4 sits on the steering committee to develop the Ombudsman Bill, and it has produced a study on how Malaysia can establish such an institution.
“We have had many engagements with the legal affairs division of the Prime Minister’s Department (BHEUU), including meetings with Deputy Minister M. Kulasegaran,” Pushpan said.
The division has said the Bill is being drafted and is expected to be tabled in Parliament this year.
Setting up the institution, which looks into maladministration in government services and works to reform such flaws, is among key reforms promised by the unity government.
To make it truly independent, personnel in the ombudsman’s office must be appointed through an open call for candidates and a vote in Parliament, said Pushpan.
“The Prime Minister cannot be granted the unilateral discretion to appoint ombudsmen,” he said.
The ombudsman’s office should also ideally streamline the current system to receive all public complaints against the civil service, he added.
Family Frontiers, a group that represents Malaysians who have faced problems with government services, said the ombudsman’s effectiveness would depend on its mandate, independence and operational structure.
“The devil is in the details. Civil society organisations have not yet seen the proposed Bill and would like to be meaningfully consulted. There is a risk of creating an additional bureaucratic layer that adds cost to tax payers without delivering tangible outcomes,” the group said in a statement.
In many countries, the ombudsman does not have enforcement powers and their recommendations are not legally binding, which may limit their impact, Family Frontiers added.
