Kuala lumpur: The Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) welcomes the government's serious emphasis on issues of integrity, abuse of power and leakage in the tabling of the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), which is in line with EAIC's role as a monitoring body for enforcement agencies. Its chairman Tan Sri Dr Ismail Bakar said the government's commitment to strengthening governance and ensuring that actions taken are transparent and based on accountability is very timely in efforts to bolster the people's confidence in national institutions.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the 13MP document released by the Ministry of Economy yesterday emphasizes strengthening integrity and accountability, improving the efficiency of public service delivery, and strengthening fiscal management. These efforts aim to position Malaysia among the top 25 countries in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and target a top 12 placement in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook.
"As stated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, sometimes what damages the people's trust is not simply misconduct, but failure to act when injustice occurs," Ismail highlighted. He further stressed that a culture of integrity is not solely the responsibility of civil servants or enforcement agencies but must be implemented at all levels, including the private sector and society, to maintain public confidence in national institutions.
Commenting further, Ismail described the initiative to establish the Malaysian Ombudsman as a timely move, aligning with the ongoing institutional reform agenda. "EAIC supports this effort to strengthen the system of checks and balances in the delivery of public services and to address citizens' complaints more comprehensively, independently and effectively," he stated.
The 13MP's governance improvements are expected to reduce the fiscal deficit to below three per cent and ensure that the debt level does not exceed 60 per cent of Gross Domestic Product. Initiatives under the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2024-2028 and the CPI Special Task Force will be intensified to tackle corruption issues and improve Malaysia's standing in the CPI.
"The role of the Integrity Unit will also be strengthened to combat corruption in the public sector with an emphasis on initiatives based on a behavioural insights approach towards forming civil servants with integrity and responsibility," according to the document.