Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he personally had no problem releasing the Institutional Reform Committee (IRC) report to the public.
However, Dr Mahathir said the decision was not entirely in his hands, but it was to be determined by all parties in Pakatan Harapan coalition 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 that there are five parties in the government (Pakatan 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 we 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 at Hotel One World, 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 his 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,” asked Ambiga.
The IRC was set up by the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) shortly after GE14 last year to identify problems and examine and propose reforms to some of the country’s most important institutions.
Among the institutions that the IRC evaluated were the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC), the Election Commission (EC), the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), and enforcement agencies such as the police.
The IRC had submitted its final report to the CEP and Prime Minister’s Department in July last year.
The committee had also briefed Mahathir on July 19 on the recommendations contained in the final report.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong had said in August last year that consultations will be held with stakeholders and experts before the report is released to the public.
In September last year, Ambiga also called for the IRC report to be made public as it wanted public opinion to be taken into account when making changes.
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).