The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center)

C4 Center recently hosted the "Regional Forum on Good Governance Initiatives and Advocacy Strategies," bringing together CSOs from across Southeast Asia. Representatives from Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, and Myanmar shared valuable insights on advocacy efforts. The forum featured esteemed speakers: • Professor Chin-Huat Wong 黄进发 from the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network • Cynthia Gabriel, the Founding Director of C4 Center • YB Tuan Syed Ibrahim bin Syed Noh, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on Integrity, Governance, and Anti-Corruption • United States Congressman Mike Bishop • Dr. Rifqi Sjarief Assegaf Director for Justice, Anti-Corruption, and Human Rights at Kemitraan • Asst. Prof. Dr. Torplus Yomnak, Director of the Knowledge Hub for Regional Anti-Corruption and Good Governance Collaboration (KRAC) • Carmela Fonbuena, Executive Director of The Philippines Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) They discussed political systems, the media’s role in reform, and advocacy strategies. The forum emphasized the importance of strengthening regional collaboration to move forward collectively, offering support to one another through shared voices, moral backing, and unified efforts. By working together, these nations can more effectively combat corruption and promote transparency. Through workshops and expert insights, the forum fostered collaboration and developed actionable strategies for advancing good governance across the region.

C4 Center recently hosted the "Regional Forum on Good Governance Initiatives and Advocacy Strategies," bringing together CSOs from across Southeast Asia. Representatives from Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, and Myanmar shared valuable insights on advocacy efforts. The forum featured esteemed speakers: ·       Professor Chin Huat from the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network ·       Cynthia Gabriel, the Founding Director of C4 ·       YB Tuan Syed Ibrahim bin Syed Noh, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on Integrity, Governance, and Anti-Corruption ·       United States Congressman Mike Bishop ·       Dr. Rifqi Sjarief Assegaf, Program Director for Justice, Anti-Corruption, and Human Rights at Kemitraan ·       Asst. Prof. Dr. Torplus Yomnak, Director of the Knowledge Hub for Regional Anti-Corruption and Good Governance Collaboration (KRAC) ·       Carmela Fonbuena, Executive Director of The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) They discussed political systems, the media’s role in reform, and advocacy strategies. The forum emphasized the importance of strengthening regional collaboration to move forward collectively, offering support to one another through shared voices, moral backing, and unified efforts. By working together, these civil societies across ASEAN nations can more effectively combat corruption and promote transparency. Through workshops and expert insights, the forum fostered collaboration and developed actionable strategies for advancing good governance across the region.

Commemorating the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) 2024: Do Not Delay Our Right to Information Any Further 28th September is the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI), a day CIJ, C4 Center, ARTICLE 19, and Sinar Project commemorate in light of our work on the right to information (RTI) and the pressing need for increased transparency and information justice in Malaysia. A federal Right to Information (RTI) legislation would strengthen our democracy by promoting transparency and enhancing public participation in matters of public interest in an open and constructive manner. We urge the government to prioritise the development of a comprehensive RTI legislation without further delay. RTI is grounded in the principle of maximum disclosure, namely that all information held by public bodies is public and should be accessible to all. The government serves as a custodian of such information on behalf of the people, not as a gatekeeper. The proactive disclosure of publicly held information can empower citizens, foster trust in the government, and correct decades of corruption, abuse of power, and financial mismanagement fueled by a culture of secrecy. Therefore, we call for the government to implement the RTI legislation without further delay, considering the following non-negotiable principles grounded in international human rights law: 1. Open By Default 2. Guarantee the Establishment of an Independent RTI Oversight Body 3. Repeal or Amend Other Laws to Ensure Alignment with the New RTI Law There must be a fundamental cultural shift in public bodies towards greater openness, transparency and accountability. We hope to continue to collaborate with the Legal Affairs Division in the Prime Minister’s Department (BHEUU), other government stakeholders, parliamentarians, our fellow CSOs and the public to advocate for a federal RTI Act that integrates international best practices into our domestic context. 28 September 2024

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On 24 May 2024, Selangor State Executive Councillor on Investment, Trade and Mobility Ng Sze Han pushed back on concerns surrounding the appointment of Asia Mobility Technologies Sdn Bhd (Asia Mobiliti) as a service provider for Selangor Mobility’s Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) system in June last year. This comes amid public backlash over the company’s links to Federal Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, through its co-founder and CEO Ramachandran Muniandy, who is her husband. C4 Center is extremely concerned with the potential conflicts of interest in the appointment and the lack of transparency regarding the appointment process. MACC Chief Commissioner Azam Baki stated that there was “no issue” with the appointment as Yeoh’s Ministry had no direct ties to the Selangor State Government. C4 Center is dismayed that the head of the MACC could have a dismissive view on a matter that raises serious questions of misgovernance and conflict of interest. Asia Mobiliti disregarded the need for an open tender process – claiming it would cause “a monopoly in the state”. C4 Center disagrees vehemently with this argument. An open tender process encourages competition and openness in the procurement process. C4 Center strongly urges that: ·       The Selangor State Government makes available the details of Asia Mobiliti’s appointment in full, and commits to making all procurement related information publicly accessible. ·       The MACC conducts a comprehensive probe on this issue for any potential instances of abuse of power or undue influence. ·       The Federal Government accelerates the enactment of a Government Procurement Act, in line with UNCITRAL’s Model Law on public procurement. Respective State Governments must also ensure that state-level procurement is regulated in a transparent manner. ·       All public procurement laws must include provisions for a grievance mechanism to remedy contracts that may be tainted with abuse of power or conflict of interest. ·       Studies must be conducted to introduce a legal framework on regulating conflict of interest as part of a Code of Ethics for ministers, members of parliament and state assemblypersons, as well as their family members and associates.

C4 Center CEO Pushpan Murugiah was invited to a Taklimat and Sharing session hosted by the National Water Services Commission or Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara (SPAN) where he provided some insight on the concept of Conflict of Interest (COI) and what its implications are. Conflict of interest may differ from various industries, cultures, & countries, and so clarifying the boundaries of COI according to different situations is of unique necessity. There is no one size fits all solution. Addressing conflict of interest issues require effort from multiple angles; from setting up robust internal whistle blower mechanism, good governance policies that applies to top management & board members as well as staff & employees, and transparency in service procurement processes. There are many policies of international standards that can be customised and adapted to local contexts. Conflict of interest is only the tip of the iceberg in the large ecosystem of corruption. An ecosystem so broad and complex, the provisions of the MACC Act are not equipped to address. Therefore, it becomes even more important for organisations to go beyond what is expected in order to curb corrupt practices.

PRESS STATEMENT Reappointment of Azam Baki as MACC Chief highlights continued failure of Government to enact institutional reform On 12 May 2024, Chief Commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Azam Baki was reappointed to hold the office for another year, following a previous one-year term extension conferred in 2023. The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) reiterates that the credibility and independence of the MACC remains in question so long as the appointment process of the Chief Commissioner is not reformed. C4 Center calls for greater momentum in the implementation of extensively discussed reforms to decentralise and democratise Executive power. As previously highlighted by C4 Center, it was revealed through investigations by a journalist that Azam owned millions of shares in two publicly-listed companies while he was the head of MACC’s investigations department. Furthermore, an MACC probe in April 2022 into Justice Nazlan Ghazali was declared non-compliant with proper protocol by the Federal Court in February 2023. Were these seriously controversial incidents taken into consideration by the Prime Minister before deciding on his reappointment? The reappointment of an individual plagued with scandals he has not answered for, to such an important office is already disappointing. However, the fundamental issue here goes beyond Azam alone. The institutional capacity to combat corruption in Malaysia shall remain impaired without sufficient devolution of the powers which have been centralised in the hands of the Prime Minister. Critically, the lack of accountability regarding the appointment of the MACC Chief Commissioner is a severe detriment to the credibility of the institution, and must be remedied without delay. Therefore, C4 Center reiterates that Azam Baki’s disconcerting reappointment must catalyse the expediting of comprehensive reforms to the appointment process of the office of the MACC Chief Commissioner.

On April 25th C4 Center, along with the members of the Rasuah Busters coalition, attended a consultation session with the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) YB Tuan M. Kula Segaran and various officers of the Legal Affairs Division (BHEUU) including the Deputy Director General of Policy & Development Dr Punitha Silivarajoo on the proposal to establish the Malaysian Ombudsman office. Representing C4 Center were our Founding Director Cynthia Gabriel, CEO Pushpan Murugiah, and Policy and Legal Research Officer Prishanth Linggaraj. This session was an opportunity for civil society organisations to share our baseline expectations on the development of the Ombudsman Bill. Important points of emphasis included measures to safeguard the body's autonomy, sufficient resourcing and budgeting, and constitutional issues. Prishanth also presented a brief summary of C4 Center's report "Structuring the Malaysian Ombudsman Office", to give the Deputy Minister and BHEUU officers a clearer picture of the key considerations that they must take into account in order to create a viable and progressive Ombudsman office. Ancillary topics were also raised during our discussions, such as the amendments to the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 and the contours of the proposed Parliamentary Services Act. C4 Center is grateful that BHEUU continues to show significant interest in engaging civil society when developing their reform proposals. Our discussions gave us some details on the present status of the Bill's development, and we are excited to continue working closely with BHEUU to advance this reform agenda to completion.

Last month, C4 Center had handed over advanced copies of our report on waste colonialism and the plastic waste trade to representatives of both Malaysian and Japanese governments. On 25 April, an advanced copy of the report was presented to the Malaysian Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES), Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad. During the recent fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) session in Ottawa, Canada, our report co-author, Wong Pui Yi, handed over advanced copies to members of the Japanese delegation, Hiroshi Ono, Vice Minister, Global Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Environment Japan (MOEJ) and Kojima Michikazu from Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO). At INC4, an advance copy of the report was also handed to Kei Ohno Woodall, from the BRS (Basel/Rotterdam/Stockholm Conventions) Secretariat. The report, “Ending Waste Colonialism, Governing Plastic Pollution: Japan’s Opportunity to Lead Asia out of the Plastic Crisis,” written by Wong Pui Yi, Wong Si Peng, and Nabila Zulkeflee is now available for download at https://lnkd.in/gmyfJ3tB.

In 2022, Malaysia was the top importer of plastic waste from Japan. Out of a total of 563 million kg of plastic waste exported by Japan to other countries, 179 million kg was sent to Malaysia. The sheer scale of Japanese plastic waste exports calls into question the effectiveness of Japanese efforts in supporting programmes to tackle waste management and marine debris in Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia. Malaysia already has limited capacity to recycle domestic waste, with only 24% of key plastic resins recycled in 2019. This report examines the governance of the plastic waste trade by considering the case study of Japan as an exporting country and Malaysia as an importing country. This report discusses trade and pollution through the lens of waste colonialism, and raises questions about the transparency, traceability, and accountability of the governance frameworks. Finally, the opportunities for a global agreement on plastic pollution in addressing waste colonialism are explored.  The full report is available for download on our website at https://lnkd.in/gmyfJ3tB