PM: Openness, honesty, transparency vital for faith in Govt
By Audrey Edwards, The Star
ASTANA (Kazakhstan): Openness, honesty and transparency are vital if the people are to have faith that their government is working for them and not for itself.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said these guiding principles would also show that leaders and politicians were striving to lift the whole economy and not just to “line their own pockets”.
Good governance, he added was not the only answer to the many and complex challenges faced.
“As political leaders and as statesmen, it is up to us to show the resolve, dedication, commitment and political will required to do what is right, to right what is wrong and to prevent corruption and secrecy from becoming a norm in our societies.
“We should be prepared to walk the talk and practise what we preach. And government should have no fear of criticism from the people that they serve,” he said in his keynote address Wednesday at the opening of the seventh World Islamic Economic Forum here.
He added that it was vital for governments to develop new approaches and economic models appropriate for each country’s respective internal dynamics if they wanted to endure and flourish besides meet the interests and expectations of their people, especially the young.
He said the responsibility of applying such principles was not just for governments but also that of the private sector, non-governmental organisations and the people.
Najib said good governance should come “naturally” to Muslim nations as it had been their nature for more than 1,500 years.
He cited the example of the fourth Caliph Ali bin ABi Talib, fourth son-in-law of Prophet Mohammed, who told Egyptian governor Maalik as-Ashtar that “his administration would only succeed if he governs with concern for justice, equality, probity and the prosperity of all”, including women.
Consequently, Najib said Muslim nations had long known that such attitudes were not the preserve of Western liberal democracies.
However, he added that good governance was “easier said than done” in a world that has been characterised by factors such as political influence, unequal competition and opportunities, strong family ties, unlimited greed, inadequate rules and regulations, and poor enforcement.
“Even the fear of God at times can do little to ensure adherence to the principles of integrity,” he added.
Najib added that he believed the Malaysian Government was doing its part by embarking on a series of readjustment and transformation initiatives to emphasise the positive influence of good governance on its competitiveness.
Among the efforts, he said, were the Whistleblower Protection Act, National Integrity Plan, the introduction of key performance indicators and establishing the Malaysian Institute of Integrity.
He said to keep a healthy check and balance, the Government also welcomed comments and views from its own institutions, religious organisations, minority groups, the media and businesses.
He added that the vision of transforming Malaysia into a high-income country in a just way that benefitted everyone was being done through strategies such as the Government Transformation Programme, New Economic Model and the Economic Transformation Programme.
