LETTER | Malaysia needs code of conduct for ministers

LETTER | Former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan, co-hosts of the weekly political podcast “Keluar Sekejap”, on May 30 suggested the establishment of a code of conduct for ministers.

Shahril said such code is already a practice in countries like Singapore and the United Kingdom (UK) so as to avoid conflicts of interest, as well as nepotism and cronyism at the highest levels of the government.

In Singapore, according to a paper laid before Parliament in July 2005, a Code of Conduct for Ministers has been in force since 1954 detailing how ministers should act and arrange their personal affairs.

It has been amended from time to time.

The long-standing Code of Conduct for Ministers, therefore, was revised and reissued. It incorporated all the changes made to date and included additional rules concerning the acceptance of gifts.

Significantly and importantly, the public since then become better informed about the higher levels of accountability their lawmakers and representatives must uphold as their position is one of trust.

The Code of Conduct, which takes effect from July 4, 2005, says as follows:

“The position of a government minister is one of trust. It is vital that ministers do not by their conduct undermine public confidence in themselves or bring discredit to the government. Therefore, all ministers are expected to act at all times according to the highest standards of probity, accountability, honesty, integrity and diligence in the exercise of their public duties.

“This Code of Conduct for Ministers sets out the “rules of obligation” that all ministers are to abide by in order to uphold these standards. Breach of any of these ‘rules of obligation’ may expose the minister to removal from office.

“Ministers are personally responsible for complying with this Code of Conduct and are expected to make their own decisions on how best to conduct themselves as required by this code.”

In the UK, there is a ministerial code that sets out the standards to which a government minister is expected to adhere.

The code is updated by each prime minister but is largely consistent across various administrations. It covers various principles of integrity, including how ministers should avoid conflicts of interest and how they should interact with the administration and civil servants.

Nolan Principles

It also expects the ministers to adhere to the Seven Principles of Public Life (also known as the Nolan Principles) – the ethical standards for all who work in the public sector.

The Nolan principles should provide an important foundation for our democracy as well as the ethical standards that the government must uphold. They are, after all, not incompatible with Malaysia Madani.

So too is a code of conduct for ministers.

To borrow from Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, who finally broke her silence on June 1 after critics linked her to a Selangor transport pilot project involving a company co-founded by her husband, Malaysia deserves nothing less.

Yes, Malaysia deserves nothing less than a code of conduct for ministers.

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