Any RCI must be ethically upright, without ulterior motives

If the function of such inquiries is to probe serious malfeasance in governance, then current cases involving mismanagement of public funds warrant the setting up of royal commissions of inquiries.

COMMENT

By Mohamed Ghouse Nasaruddin

As a matter of principle, royal commissions of inquiry are established to ascertain truth, and mete out justice in serious cases of malfeasance in governance that adversely affect national integrity and reputation and impact negatively on the people’s and nation’s well-being. It should be an ethically and morally upright inquiry without any prejudices or sectarian interest.

There should, in fact, be a time limit in the jurisdiction of any royal commission of inquiry. Otherwise, it could lead to abuse when past incidents are allowed to be revisited and reinterpreted in the light of current political sentiments. As such, the royal commission of inquiry should not be profaned as a tactical instrument for sectarian interests. It should be regarded as sacrosanct and only employed for the noble quest for truth and justice.

It is hoped that the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Bank Negara’s losses in foreign exchange dealings 20 years ago was set up with these noble objectives and without any tinge of vindictiveness.

To ensure the impartiality of any such commission, the appointed board members must be disinterested and impartial without any vested interests with the party that initiated the setting up of the commission of inquiry. They must ferret the truth and nothing but the truth. But the problem is, truth is a creature of circumstances and expediency, which lends it a malleable quality to suit differing scenarios. Thus, what is truthful in a past situation may not be so in a later one as sentiments, affiliations and personal vested reality may create a heady brew of submission, sycophancy or rebellion that influence the perception of truth, which may not coincide with the factual one.

But, as they say, the truth has no place to hide and time will reveal it, for its skeleton can neither be buried in the ground nor sequestered in the closet. It will emerge when it is time.

In the case of the foreign exchange losses which occurred about 20 years ago, the government of the day, that included several members of the current administration as well as members of parliament, had deliberated and approved the findings and effected the closure of the matter. As such, those involved cannot eschew accepting the collective responsibility as they are morally and ethically bound to the decision.

The same parameters of inquiry apply if the present administration decides to establish commissions of inquiry into the Memali incident and the BMF scandal.

If the function of such inquiries is to probe serious malfeasance in governance, then current cases involving mismanagement of public funds warrant the setting up of royal commissions of inquiries to address these issues. Otherwise, the credibility and integrity of such an august instrument of governance that is supposed to act as a check and balance as well as safeguard the interests of the people and the nation would be sullied.

Mohamed Ghouse Nasuruddin is a keen observer in governance and an FMT reader.