Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has revved up his campaign against graft by signing Transparency International’s Election Integrity pledge.
He has also called on the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition as well as the opposition to do the same.
Corruption has been listed as one of main concerns of voters in the upcoming general election, that is widely expected to be held by the end of next month.
Mr Najib stressed that failure to rid the country of corruption will taint the country’s image and hamper economic and democratic progress.
Flanked by all 13 BN component party leaders, PM Najib signed a personal pledge in his office in Putrajaya to uphold democracy and good governance.
He has tasked all BN nominees to do the same, once the list of candidates standing for election is out.
Amid a looming general election, Mr Najib has led the way by signing this election integrity pledge, by declaring that as a candidate, he will not give or accept any bribes, he will uphold and give priority to interests of the rakyat (people), and comply with all the rules and regulations of Malaysia.
In his own handwriting, the prime minister wrote that “I believe that as the BN leader, I have to set a strong tone. Only a candidate who is deemed to have fought a clean and fair election will lead to a trustworthy government respected by the people”. It remains to be seen whether opposition candidates will follow suit.
Tengku Adnan Mansor, secretary-general of the United Malays National Organisation, said: “I do not think they will sign, because I was told they are not interested to sign.”
However, Tony Pua, chief economist of the Democratic Action Party, said: “The opposition is very happy to sign the integrity pledge, but we have asked that an additional clause be added to the pledge, whereby elected representatives who are subsequently appointed to office as EXCO members of state governments, or as cabinet ministers, are required to declare assets.
“That to us makes the integrity pledge meaningful. If you do not declare assets, it is a very empty integrity pledge.”
The pledge by Transparency International Malaysia was initiated to change a political culture which has often been seen as corrupt.
Paul Low, president of Transparency International Malaysia, said: “Almost all the surveys show that the issue of corruption and integrity is the most important point.
“You may say it is cosmetic but we explained to them that you are actually making a public declaration, and you are making a social contract with them, of his own conviction or commitment, that he will uphold principles of integrity and good governance.”
So while the responsibility of fulfilling the pledge lies with the signatories, Transparency International noted that it is ultimately up to the Malaysian public to monitor and hold their politicians to account, for this exercise to be successful.