Transparency International Malaysia (TI–M) lauds the Ministry of Transport for implementing the integrity plan for the Road Transport Department. This initiative is highly commendable and timely in view of the many complaints and experience of graft by the civil society. TI-M is also encouraged to see that the YB Minister of Transport, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat had recognized rather than denied that the problems are real and need to be confronted and dealt with in a professional and effective manner.
While it is appropriate to put in place best practices in the standard operating procedures the problem of integrity must be tackled in its totality to include the following:
1. The culture of zero-tolerance for corruption must be nurtured continuously. The Minister and his top civil servants must set the pace and explicitly communicate to all levels of the ministry by their own examples and walking the talk.
2. A system of compliance must be put in place to make sure the delivery system is more visible and less bureaucratic so that the regulations are precise and clear in order to reduce the need for discretion at the grass root levels.
TI-M hopes that similar initiative will be taken in other governments departments and that every person in the society will report abuses of corruption to the appropriate complaint body that had been set up. TI-M proposes that suitable representatives from the civil society and NGOs be appointed to serve in the monitoring body for Puspakom and RTD stakeholder’s Committee.
Issued by
Datuk Paul Low
President
Transparency International Malaysia
