Stage all set for second year of reforms and changes

MP SPEAKS | I believe the second year of the Pakatan Harapan government will see more reforms and changes in the democratic governance of Malaysia.

The best part of the first year of Harapan rule had been spent on finding out the scope and extent of the political, economic, educational, social, cultural and moral damages done to Malaysia.

Two events in the last week can be said to provide the final stones for the foundation for far-reaching institutional and political reforms in the next four years of the Harapan government.

Namely the appointments of new Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, and a new Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador.

As the Attorney-General Tommy Thomas said at the ceremonial sitting to celebrate the appointment of Tengku Maimun, the only way for the Malaysian judiciary to return to its “glory days” of the 1970s and 1980s is for judges to consistently endeavour to make the right decisions.

Thomas said the Malaysian judiciary enjoyed a high reputation for the first 30 years after the country’s independence.

Judges of those days such as Lord President Mohamed Suffian Mohamad Hashim and Eusoffe Abdoolcader were seen as luminaries not just in Malaysia but also by their counterparts abroad as well.

The time has come for the Malaysian judiciary to produce luminaries not just in Malaysia but also in the international arena.

Maimun has started the new judicial era on a right note, declaring that the independence of the judiciary does not mean that the judiciary is immune from criticisms or accountability to the public which it serves.

She said the courts respect the right of the public to criticise judges' performance but the criticisms must be based on facts and done responsibly.

She pointed out that unfounded and baseless criticisms against the judiciary would weaken the administration of justice and erode the confidence of the public in the judiciary.

Hamid has also made a great start in clearing the way for the establishment of the Independent Police Complaint and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), a key proposal which had been made by the Royal Police Commission headed by former chief justice Mohamad Dzaiddin and longest-serving inspector-general of police Hanif Omar, but blocked from implementation for some 14 years.

It is even more impressive that Hamid is visiting police stations in plainclothes and alone, without prior notice or escorts, to listen to the grouses of police personnel.

Malaysians do not want the country to end up as a failed state, but want Malaysia to be a world-class nation in every field of human endeavour – a world-class police force, a world-class judiciary, a world-class nation of integrity, a world-class education system, a world-class economy and a world-class Parliament.

The first year of the Harapan government had seen important basic changes to pave the way for far-reaching institutional, political and democratic reforms.

The stage is all set to speed up the nation-building process in the second year of the Harapan government.

The landslide Sandakan parliamentary by-election victory for DAP, Pakatan Harapan and Warisan on May 11 provides a great fillip to the agenda in the building of a New Malaysia.

Furthermore, the Sandakan by-election result debunks the notions of those who believe that the Umno-PAS axis has a future or that the “Malu Apa Bossku” campaign represents the future of Malaysia.

The Sandakan by-election result is proof that the DAP/Pakatan Harapan/Warisan coalition intends to remain as the federal government and Sabah state government even after the 15th general election to accomplish our agenda to build a New Malaysia, New Sabah and, hopefully, a New Sarawak.

LIM KIT SIANG is Iskandar Puteri MP.

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