KUALA LUMPUR – Those who committed graft in the past must be brought to account to prevent future acts of corruption, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told lawyers and judges today.
Speaking at the International Malaysia Law Conference 2023, Anwar urged the Bar to support the government’s initiatives to institutionalise good governance and to hold to account those who abused power and committed graft.
“No doubt that working on the present for the better of the future is essential, but it is equally as imperative to bring to justice the perpetrators of corruption in the past.
“Giving them a free pass without accountability is to give a blank cheque for the perpetration of future abuses. We need to see a forceful demonstration of this fervour from the Bar.
“This is the essence of democratic accountability – that we are not only accountable but must be seen to be accountable as well. And this too is the affirmation of justice,” Anwar said.
In line with that, he said a review of the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 is timely to give more protection for informants to come forward without fear of reprisal.
“The time has come for a review of the Whistleblower Protection Act with a view to expanding protection and the avenues for disclosures to appropriate agencies without fear of punishment,” he said in his opening speech at the conference.
Anwar also promised to continue defending judicial independence.
“I can say with utmost certainty, that since my taking office as prime minister, not only have I not encroached upon even a single inch of this sacred terrain, but that I shall defend, at all costs, the independence of the judiciary.”
In his speech, he also commended Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimum, who was also present at the conference, “for her courageous role in strengthening our faith in the judiciary”.
“And by this, I mean that thanks to her steadfast stand on the independence of her judicial office and that of her judicial brethren in the face of relentless attacks, the horizon for continued judicial independence appears bright and promising,” said Anwar.
Tengku Maimun, who became Chief Justice in 2019, has several times defended the judiciary and urged judges to remain impartial in the face of attacks, particularly over the corruption trial of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Last year, she ticked off politicians and critics attacking the judiciary after the Federal Court upheld Najib’s conviction for graft in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.
She also said that while court judgements could be criticised and debated, critics of the judiciary in recent times had gone “overboard”. – The Vibes, July 10, 2023
