Putrajaya, December 8, 2025 – The Europe Today: Malaysia has decided to form Ombudsman Malaysia with an expanded mandate aimed at enhancing integrity, transparency, and accountability across the public sector.
The decision was made during the meeting of the Special Cabinet Committee on National Governance (JKKTN) on Monday, chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
In a statement issued the same day, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said the proposed Ombudsman Malaysia would address maladministration, misconduct, whistleblower protection, and freedom of information. The initiative is designed to safeguard the public’s right to lodge complaints, improve service delivery, and uphold high standards of governance in the public sector.
According to the statement, the Ombudsman Bill is scheduled to be tabled in Parliament early next year.
The meeting also reviewed four sub-strategies under the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS), which will be implemented next year. These include an integrated procurement mechanism—the Digital Procurement System (d.Pro)—being developed by the Finance Ministry, and the drafting of a Freedom of Information Bill by the Legal Affairs Division (BHEUU) of the Prime Minister’s Department to expand public access to government data.
Another measure discussed was the digital rollout of the i-Kad for foreign students under the National Integrated System (NIISe), overseen by the Home Ministry. Additionally, the committee considered tax incentives for companies accredited with the MS ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management System (ABMS) by the Standards Department to promote best practices in corporate integrity.
MACC also reported that the committee supported the proposal for new legislation governing state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including subsidiaries of statutory bodies. The proposed law would require the establishment and reporting of SOEs to be presented in Parliament to ensure greater transparency and accountability.
The SOE Bill is expected to be tabled by the end of 2026.
On the recently launched Integrity and Governance Management System (SPINE), the MACC stated that it aims to cultivate a culture of integrity across public agencies. SPINE will serve as a mandatory mechanism to evaluate governance standards without the financial burden of certification fees and external audits associated with ABMS. Full implementation will begin next month across federal and state public agencies.
Monday’s meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi; Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said; Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar; Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar; MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki; Treasury Secretary-General Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican; and MACC National Governance Planning Division Senior Director Datuk Idris Zaharuddin.
