FEBRUARY 14 — I am dumbfounded by the news that PKR’s Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli would be approaching electoral reform group Bersih to organise a rally expressing dissatisfaction with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) following allegations raised in a Bloomberg report.

According to Free Malaysia Today, Rafizi said he had received messages from several individuals urging him to spearhead a protest, but maintained that Bersih would be better placed to take the lead and determine a suitable date.

Bersih may be better placed to spearhead a protest, but Rafizi is better placed to initiate a process to reform the MACC.

It is because he is a Member of Parliament (MP).

As an MP, he can move a Private Member’s Bill in Parliament.

In “When will Malaysians get to see parliamentary oversight of the MACC?” I shared how Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government ensured parliamentary oversight of a critical body designed to detect, investigate, and prevent serious or systemic corruption — that is, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).

The NACC is established by an Act of Parliament — that is the National Anti-Corruption Act 2022 (NACCA). The NACCA ensures parliamentary oversight of the NACC by providing for the establishment of a parliamentary committee known as the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission (PJC-NACC) (Section 172).

The PJC-NACC in turn is assisted by an independent officer of the federal Parliament known as the Inspector of the NACC (Section 182).

Part 10 of the NACCA — on oversight of the NACC — contains the whole gamut of provisions on the PJC-NACC and Inspector of the NACC.

Rafizi can be inspired by the above and draft a Private Member’s Bill, the objective of which is to place the MACC under parliamentary oversight.

The Australian experience informs us that placing the MACC under parliamentary oversight is doable, by way of legislation.

We may agree that Malaysia lags behind “with a system that does not allow for easy implementation of Private Member’s Bills” resulting in virtually none of them being given the space to be debated over the course of a parliamentary session (see Nurul Izzah Anwar and Nurul Jannah Mohd Jailani, “Strengthening Malaysian Parliamentary Democracy Through Private Member’s Bill” which can be read here).

But a Private Member’s Bill, to my mind, is better than protests and rallies.

A Private Member’s Bill to place the MACC under parliamentary oversight is not only a constructive proposal that is actionable, tangible (real and not imaginary) and forward-thinking, but a constructive engagement with the government.

Protests and rallies are good, but a Private Member’s Bill is better.

What say you, Rafizi?

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.