KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 — The government said today it will establish a new body dedicated to formulating policies to ensure all official dealings are corruption-free and carried out with integrity.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has agreed to the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC), which will also plan, draft strategies, and evaluate policies to ensure all government affairs are conducted properly with integrity and zero-tolerance towards corruption.

In a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office, it is also announced that former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed has been elected to head GIACC, given his extensive experience both within and without the country.

Abu Kassim is also currently part of the 1MDB special investigation team, as well as a member of the International Anti-Corruption Academy in Austria.

Among GIACC’s early duties agreed upon by Dr Mahathir is to ensure the 21 promises on governance, integrity, and anti-corruption in Pakatan Harapan’s election manifesto are given special emphasis and will be implemented in phases.

GIACC’s proposals will be discussed by the Cabinet’s Special Committee on Anti-Corruption and decided upon. The committee will replace the existing Committee on Government Fidelity.

The special committee will play a role in determining the policies and direction of governance, integrity and anti-corruption in Malaysia via the National Anti-Corruption Plan which will soon be amended.

The statement also said GIACC’s establishment will not cause any conflicts to arise between the duties and responsibilities if existing government agencies.

Instead, the agencies will be restructured to be more effective or may possibly be dissolved according to GIACC’s needs, it added.