Abdullah Badawi announced yesterday (April 21) that the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) will be made a full-fledged commission by year-end. [Bernama]
The reformation plans are mostly focusing on improving the effectiveness and transparency of ACA, but there are a few big questions that remain unanswered. The biggest question is probably on how authoritative the ACA could be after the overhaul.
It’s reported that the final say on prosecution still lies on the Attorney General. Now, what would happen if the AG has ordered to stop an investigation prematurely?
The current AG Abdul Gani Patail has done it before, and who are going to stop AG from doing it again? And what freedom is ACA actually having if this situation is allowed to happen in future?
The reformation has to go hand in hand with other authorities, and there are lots of complications that need to be cleared to ensure a really independent ACA that could operate without any interference. Getting the right people to lead the ACA is another debatable issue too.
It’s a long way to go obviously, but it’s better than doing nothing. We’ll see how things are improve as time goes by.
Besides, reforming ACA is one thing… I think we need to overhaul our law and constitution regarding corruption as well. I believe there are many loopholes in our current system that could be exploited without breaking the law. ACA would be helpless in these situations regardless of how independent they are.