With over 3,000 laws to review, when will anti-graft reforms arrive?

 On Aug 12, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said stated that a list of more than 3,000 outdated laws would be compiled for the prime minister’s consideration for further action, potentially leading to a review.

This includes laws from the pre-independence era.

Similarly, Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul recently stated that he is holding meetings with the secretaries-general and legal advisers of each ministry to re-examine existing acts that have fallen out of suitability and appropriateness.

While these efforts to review and update the country’s legal framework are commendable, it is questionable whether such a task is even feasible within the existing government infrastructure.

This concern is especially justified when one considers the slew of promised anti-corruption and governance reforms that have yet to materialise, including:

• The separation of the roles of the attorney-general and public prosecutor;

• Protecting the autonomy of oversight bodies such as the MACC and Suhakam;

• The Public Procurement Bill;

• The Right to Information Bill;

• The Ombudsman Bill;

• The reintroduction of the Parliamentary Service Act; and

• Amendments to various laws, including the Official Secrets Act 1972, the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010, and the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952.

Swamped Legal Affairs Division

The Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department (BHEUU) is responsible for the development of the majority of the country’s key legal reforms, alongside various other related functions.

However, as a mere division, its budget and capacity are limited and do not reflect the actual nature of its responsibility to oversee the reform of laws and institutions.

Considering the sheer scale of reform before the government, the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) asks whether it is time to establish a law ministry.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said

According to the BHEUU website, the division is administratively responsible for a wide range of agencies such as the Insolvency Department, the Legal Aid Department, the National Legal Aid Foundation, the Office of the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court, the Judicial and Legal Training Institute, Suhakam, and the Asian International Arbitration Centre.

Other responsibilities assigned to BHEUU include:

• Lead agency for policy setting and legal administration not under the function of any ministry/department;

• Lead agency on domestic human rights issues, including national legal policies, international feedback and reviews;

• Administration of the Trustees (Incorporation) Act 1952 and monitoring of all bodies incorporated thereunder;

• Secretariat to Suhakam;

• Secretariat to the Federal Territories Pardons Board chaired by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong; and

• Monitoring and coordinating the secretariats of the state pardons boards.

In addition to this extensive list of functions, the widely ranging subject matter of bills tabled in Parliament by the minister and deputy minister leading BHEUU over the past two years serves as a further indication of the broad scope of matters that are assigned to the division.

In 2023-2024 alone, this singular body was responsible for developing the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 and the Jurisdictional Immunities of Foreign States Act 2023, as well as preparing amendment bills for the Audit Act 1957, the Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Evidence Act 1950, the Evidence of Child Witness Act 2007, the Sexual Offences against Children Act 2017, the Arbitration Act 2005, and the Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act 2012.

Is the govt even serious about reforms?

Worryingly, despite the array of laws introduced or amended recently, none directly push forward the loudly touted anti-corruption and good governance reforms promised by the government, especially as outlined in the National Anti-Corruption Plan 2019-2023 (NACP) and the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2024-2028 (NACS).

This raises some important questions - are anti-corruption reforms a priority for the government, and if so, is there enough capacity to implement them? The latter question is of particular concern following the thousands of laws that may now be under review.

Despite its broad ambit, BHEUU’s estimated expenditure under Budget 2024 is set at only RM176 million, while the estimated expenditure of other full-fledged ministries runs into billions of ringgit.

It is possible then that an increased budget through the establishment of a law ministry may help in overcoming the administrative and technical hurdles associated with implementing a comprehensive reform agenda.

Furthermore, the notion of a law ministry is by no means far-fetched, as almost all of Malaysia’s Asean counterparts have a similar body. Indeed, a law ministry existed in the country until its dissolution in 1995.

Ultimately, the largest concern here is whether the urgent legal and institutional reforms - repeatedly acknowledged by the government - are able to be carried out by BHEUU in its current form. If so, what is holding back the implementation of law?

Addressing structural hindrances

C4 Center acknowledges that the workings of government are multi-faceted. After a comprehensive study, the solution for more efficient implementation of anti-corruption reforms may not require the establishment of a full-fledged ministry.

However, as many have noted, major questions have arisen regarding the Madani government’s actual commitment to anti-corruption reforms. If the political will already exists, then what must be immediately addressed are the structural impediments, if any, to implementing these long-awaited laws.

Thus, C4 Center calls for:

• The government to continue and expand collaboration for the implementation of anti-corruption reforms with a broad range of NGOs. This includes the urgent implementation of Strategy 3: Voice of the NACS under which an anti-corruption caucus is to be set up;

• The government to identify and publicise the reasons for delays to anti-corruption reforms; and

• Additionally, the government should identify solutions to any structural impediments to reforms, which may include the establishment of a law ministry.

- Mkini

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The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT/