PM declares victory for his reforms

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi called the passing of both his reform bills a sign of success for the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
“We took an approach which allowed for it to be passed without any constitutional amendments. It is a victory that comes from the strength of the government and BN MPs, who gave their full support,” he said in the Parliament lobby tonight.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) bills have come under heavy criticism since being tabled last week, with accusations they fell short of a full reform and clashed with the Federal Constitution.
Abdullah is halfway towards completing his reform package, with the Witness Protection Bill having been tabled earlier this week and a yet to be finalised bill on enforcement agency integrity to be tabled when Parliament reconvenes next February.
“This is very significant, as a lot of people have said that the government cannot pass these laws because it is weak and there is an assumption that it requires constitutional amendments,” he said.
“Much has been said about these legislations. This shows our will and commitment to eliminate corruption.
“This will give the anti-corruption body more ability and as we will be adding more officers, we will prove that we can reduce corruption and eliminate it.
“With the JAC, we will bring back the confidence of the public in the judiciary,” he added.
Abdullah said that these were important laws for the country, the public and the government as it would increase competitiveness and attract more foreign investors.
“They will know that there is no corruption or very little of it and will have confidence in our judiciary,” he said.
He concluded by repeating that these bills were tabled to address the strong negative perception towards Malaysia’s anti-corruption efforts and the judiciary.
“We have to be fully committed to banish this perception.”

tunku : it is passing of the bills victory not the victory in the reform.it's too early to declare victory on the reform agenda as it is yet to be seen.for corruption, it's not easy to get rid of it totally.Lesson on how bad corruption is should be taught in schools. we must teach our children to hate corruption.