MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT INTEGRITY SYSTEMS, ETHICS AND MISUSE OF PUBLIC FUNDS.

The Malaysian Constitution separates the federal government into three distinct branches (judicial, legislative and executive) with a system of "checks and balances" among their powers. It also allows for the retention of significant powers by the states within a federal system. While this diffusion of power may be inefficient in some ways, the Founders felt strongly that this was the best way to ensure that "We the People" would not be subjected to a single tyrannical power within the government nor would the government be dominated by a small tyrannical group of the people serving their own special interests.

Overlaying this constitutional separation of powers are laws and regulations that impose general procedural requirements on all agencies and courts of the government to ensure that government actions are conducted in a fair and consistent manner and in the light of the public eye. This consistency and transparency of public processes is a key component of systems designed to promote government integrity.

Through a series of statutes, the government also developed a standardized, competitive, public system for issuing government contracts. And, more generally, it has standards and procedures for spending government money and that government monies being spent should be accounted for in a proper manner.

As each Prime Minister was elected, he brought with him individuals who had supported his election and who then expected to be given ministers posts, individuals with influence in a new Prime Minister's administration.

Integrity or competence was not of primary importance in the selection of these employees.

This grossly corrupted federal service became a national scandal. Reform efforts began but were unsuccessful in raising sufficient public indignation to force a significant change.

The systems administered today by the Malaysian government are NOT based upon that foundation which include standard administrative procedures for addressing incompetence and misconduct.

Did the government ever thought of enacting Whistleblower Protection Act, a newer component of the government integrity framework. The term "whistleblower" refers to a person within an organization who reveals wrongdoing to the public or to those in positions of authority.

Under this law, it provides a secure channel through which an employee may provide evidence of a violation of any law, rule or regulation, gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority or substantial and specific danger to public health and safety without fear of retaliation and without disclosure of the employee's identity, unless that employee has consented.

The personal conflicts of interest and "ethics" of government officers and employees were for more than a century and has never been dealt with almost exclusively by criminal statutes and proceedings. Scandals involved officials making unfounded claims against the government treasury or personally profiting during their tenor as ministers never arrived or were defective. These scandals gave rise to a series of officials from personally profiting by their involvement in government decisions and processes.

High-level government officials are required to file personal financial disclosure reports. These reports are required upon entry into government service, annually. In general, these reports should require the disclosure of most assets and sources of income; liabilities; gifts; purchases, sales and exchanges of certain assets; the names of their major clients if they had been engaged in providing services for a fee prior to government employment. Malaysian government has never disclosed any of these reports to public.

Financial disclosure by federal officers and employees provides the government with one of its best prevention tools. Reviewing the reports provides the government with an opportunity to anticipate potential conflicts between the employee's financial interests and activities and his or her duties. Agencies can then change the duties of employees or counsel them with regard to the measures that must be taken in order to avoid actual conflicts. Such actions can include recusal [abstaining from decisions involving possible conflict of interest, divestiture, resignation from private positions or employment or the establishment of a blind trust. BUT how effective these reports used for enforcement purposes if information on the report discloses a violation of some statute or if the individual filer is found to have filed a false report.

Beginning with the Constitution itself, Malaysia has never developed an interdependent system of laws and regulations that promote and require integrity and ethics. The system is not designed to promote institutional integrity through the establishment of consistent, fair and public procedures for carrying out the business of government and to promote individual employee integrity through the establishment of fair, consistent and enforceable standards of ethical conduct.

mi1

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