LETTER | Institutional reforms key for economic recovery

LETTER | The present government under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has announced various initiatives for economic recovery as the country faces challenges and tough times over the years.

Among the initiative includes the launching of National Energy Transition Roadmap, the New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030, and Hydrogen Technology and Economy Roadmap.

Plus, the introduction of other programmes such as the Rahmah initiative is a good effort to help Malaysians who are struggling with the rising cost of living.

Nevertheless, apart from the economic roadmap and several charity programmes, the other initiative that needs to be taken into account by Putrajaya is related to institutional reforms to fight corruption and misuse of power.

As such, the government need to expedite the separation of roles between the attorney general (AG) and public prosecutor to ensure our justice system is independent and impartial.

This effort will definitely help the country to make a turnaround in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) score and global ranking - where Malaysia’s score has been declining in recent years and is currently ranked 62nd out of 180 countries.

Eradicate corruption

Furthermore, it will enhance people’s confidence especially foreign investors to keep investing in Malaysia, which will help the nation become among the top 30 economies in the world as planned under Madani Economy.

In contrast, if strong efforts against kickbacks and corruption are not taken, it will damage the institution and ultimately destroy the whole economic structure.

Taking Sri Lanka as an example, the “long-term” corruption in the economic administration system caused the country’s collapse.

Therefore, the government must show strong commitment and seriousness to execute good governance and curb corruption by implementing institutional reforms accordingly.

Author is a senior manager at InvestPerak and adjunct lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Petronas.

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