Coalition must approve IRC report release - 'Democratic' Dr M tells Ambiga

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he is prepared to reveal the Institutional Reform Committee (IRC) report to the public.

However, he said this cannot be a unilateral decision and must be decided by all Pakatan Harapan parties which would have different agendas.

"If you ask me, I'll publish (the report).

"But I am not an independent agent. We have to remember there are five parties in the government (Harapan's four parties and Parti Warisan Sabah), each with its own agenda, and if I want to practice democracy, I need to consult with them first.

"It depends on what consensus we can achieve but of course, I like to be popular. If you want me to reveal it, I will reveal it,” he said.

Mahathir said this during a question-and-answer session at the Constitutional Law and Rule of Law Conference in Petaling Jaya today.

However, while the prime minister is now claiming the need to consult his coalition partners, there have been a number of occasions in the past when Mahathir has been accused by critics of making unilateral decisions.

He was responding to a question by IRC member Ambiga Sreenevasan, who asked him to consider publishing the report so he could get feedback from the public.

“After all, we were wise enough to vote for you (as a government). I think the public is wise enough to provide the right feedback. Please publish the IRC report,” she said.

The IRC was set up by the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) shortly after GE14 last year to identify problems, examine and propose reforms with regard to certain key institutions.

Among the institutions that the IRC evaluated were the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC), the Election Commission (EC), MACC and enforcement agencies such as the police.

The IRC report was submitted to the CEP last year but has not been made public.

This January, de facto deputy law minister Hanipa Maidin told Parliament that the IRC made a total of 223 recommendations related to governance, integrity and corruption prevention that are now being overseen by the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC). - Mkini