'Paul Low more of an apologist than a reformer'

MP SPEAKS The latest Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) report on Malaysia is hardly surprising.

corruption is both the subject of public knowledge and public anguish, and hence even without a survey report, Malaysians in general have lost faith in the current regime's ability to deal with corruption. 

Last year, we were crowned champions in corruption after scoring the worst in the Transparency International 2012 Bribe Payers Survey.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s gestures to sign the integrity pledge before the 13th general election and the appointment of former TI-M president Paul Low as ‘Integrity Minister’ afterwards, proved to be mere theatrics.

Already half of his first 100 days as a minister have passed and Low, far from being a radical voice of conscience in the government, has thus far shown his appointment to be, rather, a homecoming. He seems to have comfortably made himself at home in a government smeared with the black mark of corruption. 

Low has incessantly defended the indefensible, when he, refusing to uphold the Dzaiddin 2005 Royal Commission Report and public demand to establish the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), made himself an apologist for the tainted Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC). 

From now towards the end of his first 100 days, there are two things that Low can do to redeem himself, and these coincide with the two organisations which scored the worst in the latest GCB, i.e. the police force and political parties.

Abolish EAIC, set up IPCMC

Firstly, he should immediately abolish the EAIC which has, after the recent expose by both MP for Bukit Bendera Zairil Khir Johari and I, totally lost credibility because of the presence of a senior officer involved in Teoh Beng Hock’s case. 

In a matter of less than two weeks, the said officer was dropped from a task force to investigate deaths in custody and the chief executive of EAIC was transferred abruptly to another agency, thus rendering the commission to be on the verge of collapse. Low should take this opportunity to table the IPCMC Bill in Parliament to replace the EAIC. 

Only via an independent watchdog such as IPCMC can we restore the integrity and professionalism of our police force, and thus deal with the country’s escalating crime effectively. 

I have also proposed that the IPCMC should not only be a body to punish delinquent cops, but also be empowered to decide on job promotion within the force.

This is crucial to ensure that police promotion is based on merit and not political intervention as alleged by former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan. 

Reforming political financing

Secondly, Paul Low should take a leaf from his TI-M publication ‘Reforming Political Financing in Malaysia’ published in 2010 when he was president of TI-M.

Corruption in political parties is often called the mother of corruption because it sets into motion a vicious cycle of patronage relationship which eventually affects all levels of government. 

Low should immediately put into practice what he had preached when he was in TI-M to prove that he is not a hypocrite. There are 22 recommendations out of which six are most crucial and should be passed without any further hesitation.

1) Reform of the Election Commission, which should include the removal of its current chairperson and deputy to re-establish the commission’s independence and integrity;

2) Impose limits on individual and group contributions to political parties, and compel the disclosure and audit of accounts of political parties including their sources of income;

3) Impose limits on spending of political parties in elections, instead of just on individual candidates presently;

4) Prohibit political parties from owning, directly or indirectly, and being involved in business;

5) Introduce direct state funding for political parties; and,

6) Prohibit ownership of the media by political parties to ensure a level playing field.

These two organisations are the guardians of our nation, the police to watch over our safety and politicians, when discharging their duties professionally, are the guardians of our country’s progress. Yet, Juvenal’s lyricals remains: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes, who shall guard over the guardians? 

Indeed I sincerely hope that Low himself will not be the Juvenalian custodian who commits adultery with his friend’s wife when he was entrusted to guard her from infidelity.

He must prove in the next 50 days that he is worthy of being ‘Integrity Minister’, that he is a genuine reformer and not merely an apologist for the government.

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STEVEN SIM CHEE KEONG is DAP member of parliament for Bukit Mertajam.