CYNTHIA GABRIEL
Director, Center to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4)
The Center to Combat Cronyism and Corruption (C4) is a post 13th General Election initiative, formed in 2014 following vociferous support from Malaysians that were increasingly concerned about worsening corruption in the country.
Since its formation by some wellknown civil society leaders, the C4 Center has quickly risen to become a leading non-profit policy advocacy centre, working to combat corruption at all levels of government. It seeks to change the culture of governance and promote transparency and accountability, the rule of law and put an end to impunity.
Our early years were tough, as we found the environment increasingly disenabling to the work of good governance. As the 1MDB scandal exploded before us in 2015, the few windows of opportunity to move policy reform started to crumble, political leaders, including the then Deputy Prime Minister, and the Attorney General were sacked on the same day, the Malaysian Anti- Corruption Commission (MACC) was raided and its director arrested and personnel transferred, and, one by one, all public institutions were found to be compromised as they were forced to shut investigations and ‘forget’ the case. Civil society advocates such as ours were threatened with the Sedition Act, and public rallies calling for then Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s downfall were thwarted and attacked as foreign funded. Bersih (The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections) chairperson Maria Chin was arrested under security laws, as were scores of others under peaceful assembly laws. Civil society organisations had their office raided and harassed over many months.
However, we plodded on and persevered, knowing it was the right thing to do. And we are truly inspired that our work had contributed to the change in GE14, as we actively campaigned for political integrity to be upheld in GE14, and for political party manifestos to include efforts to promote good governance and cut corruption. C4 upholds important principles of good governance – clean, competent, conscious and credible. We are independent, non-partisan and a non-profit entity. The key people here are:
Ahmad Farouk Musa – a trained cardiothoracic surgeon and an ardent researcher who had presented his work across Asia and Europe. He is the Founder and Director of Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF), an intellectual movement and think tank focusing on youth empowerment, and promotion of intellectual discourse and reformation. He is also Vice- Chairman of BERSIH 2.0, a powerful coalition of civil societies promoting clean and fair elections. He works for the promotion of democracy and establishment of civil society, and had delivered talks related to Islam at national and international conferences.
Tan Sri Simon Sipaun – he has held senior positions in the Sabah State Civil Service, including State Training Officer, Permanent Secretary of Local Government, Ministry of Communications and Works, Ministry of Finance, the Secretary of Natural Resources and Deputy Secretary of State. His last position before retirement was State Secretary from 1988 to 1993. From October 1993 to November 2003, he was Chairman of the Sabah State Civil Service Commission. He was appointed as the Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM), by the Yang di Pertuan Agong in 2000 and was elected as Vice Chairman of SUHAKAM in 2003.
Richard YW Yeoh – He has 26 years’ worth of international corporate and banking experience in Malaysia, the Philippines, South Africa and the US. He’s a former Petaling Jaya City Councillor (2008-2013) and also former Executive Director of Transparency International Malaysia (2006-2008). Active since 2003 in initiatives and advocacy work pertaining to democratic reform, corporate governance and transparency in Malaysia and the ASEAN region. Recent involvements include the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC), the Steering Committee of the Initiative toward the formation of the Interfaith Commission of Malaysia (IFC), the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on Good Governance and BERSIH Coalition for electoral reform in Malaysia.
Zaharom Nain – He teaches both the BA in International Communication and the MA in Cultural Studies programmes at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC). He is on the advisory board of the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) Malaysia, and has been a consultant to the Geneva-based United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Malaysian Institute for Economic Research (MIER). His background and research interests are in the sociology of communications and the political economy of the media.
You will note that Pakatan Harapan won GE14 on a good governance ticket. Since then, Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad has announced a slew of measures to curb corruption, including the setting up of the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti- Corruption (GIACC), and the revival of the Cabinet Commission against Corruption. He has also set many heads rolling in GLCs and other state institutions as part of the clean-up.
I have been appointed into the 1MDB committee, which has the goal of framing the charges and studying financial flows, among other things. Thus, the work of C4 has now been magnified further and has become pivotal in assisting the nation building process, fixing the rot and pushing for structural reforms. Personally, the key changes that I would like to see implemented, in terms of transparent governance in Malaysia, would be for all politicians to declare their personal assets in full. I’d also like to see the passing of a freedom of information law, as well as the setting up of more independent institutions to oversee positive change by the government.
As for existing laws or legislation that needs to change, topping the list for me would be to abolish the Official Secrets Act (OSA), the Sedition Act and many others that impinge on basic human rights in Malaysia. Positive change in Malaysia right now has got off to a good start, but it’s a bit too early to tell which way things will go. Hence, a strong civil society is needed for effective checks and balance. Fortunately for us, plenty of public support has been what that has kept us going and kept us on course in the most hostile of times. We have tremendous faith in the Malaysian people, without which this change wouldn’t have happened.
