So far I had been interviewed on television twice in 2019, both on the topics related to governance and anti-corruption.
The first interview was aired on 2 January on Astro Awani. I was invited to the programme "Let's Talk" hosted by Sharaad Kuttan. The other co-panellist was Dato' Sri Akhbar Satar, the chairman of Transparency International, Malaysia.
As Malaysians have high expectations on various reforms instituted post the 13th general election, the topic of governance and anti-corruption would be amongst the key indicators whether the new administration would be fulfilling their promises for a better Malaysia.
I stressed the points on the need for effective institutional reforms so that our key institutions such as police, anti-corruption commission and various other regulators remain independent and perform their duties without fear or favour. At the same time, the introduction of the political financing law, as promised, would require political parties to revamp their business models and be more transparent on how they are funded. I also suggested that financial reporting in public sector to be treated in similar manner with the private sector where senior public officials who cause financial statements of public institutions to be false or misleading to be fined and jailed.
A day later I appeared again with Dato Akhbar as well on a talk show "Ruang Bicara" on Bernama News Channel on similar topics. This time the programme was hosted by Sherkawi Jirim, someone whom I knew since small since he started an investigative reporting programme "Panorama" on RTM. It was very popular until, according to Sharkawi, the then power that be wanted it to be shelved.
The Malay-speaking programme allowed callers from all over the country to call in and shared their views on corruption. It appeared that the desire of Malaysians for corruption to be tackled seriously remained high.
While Dato' Sri Akhbar shared his ideas on how corruption should be addressed, I repeated by views on the need for institutional reform and the introduction of the political party financing law. I also explained how corruption resulted in the society to be deprived of funds for development and direct assistance to the poor and needy.
I am very happy that I am able to contribute, in my small way, to enhance governance in Malaysia so that government would be more responsible when spending the Rakyat's money.
May 2019 be a year where more structural reforms are introduced to combat the evil of corruption and elevated our governance practices to the level where we would be proud of as Malaysians.
Link to my Let's Talk interview:
Link to my Ruang Bicara interview:
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