THE 1Malaysia Development Bhd saga is a never-ending stench that continues to engulf the country.
"Stench" is a considered choice. As Mingguan Malaysia's editorial points out, the 1MDB scandal is like the pus-filled boil and the pong that comes with it. It is right.
Just follow the revelations of star prosecution witness Tim Leissner at the bribery trial of Roger Ng, a former Goldman Sachs employee, in the Federal Court in New York, the United States, to see who had the pus-ridden carbuncle in Malaysia. Individuals, families and, shockingly, institutions of the nation have been named by Leissner. It is too early in the trial for those outside the courtroom to reach any conclusive judgment about the guilt of this or that person.
We will leave this to the courts in the US and Malaysia as the New York trial has some distance to go. One former prime minister has already been found guilty of corruption by two courts in Malaysia. He is appealing his conviction.
We will see what the Federal Court, the highest court of the country, has to say on this. Whatever the judgment, Malaysia will be watching. And the world, too. Others are being tried. One former chief executive of a private company is being investigated under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission based on information revealed in the US trial of Roger Ng.
The former chief executive is alleged to have bought a house in London worth US$10 million with money belonging to 1MDB.
Sentencing is one thing, but making sure that 1MDB doesn't happen again is another. The answer lies in strengthening governance at many levels.
Start with the office of the prime minister, because that's where the carbuncle began to show up first. Reducing the term of the prime minister may be one solution. The longer one occupies the seat of power, the easier it is for him to develop contempt for governance.
Secondly, government-linked companies (GLCs) must be made more independent. Free market economists will argue GLCs out of existence if they can, but we see their importance. But not without any checks and balances. One such is that the prime minister mustn't be the chairman of such institutions. For the good of the office of the prime minister and for the good of the institutions, the GLCs must be kept at a governable distance.
One reason why the board of 1MDB slavishly followed the instructions of the chairman was because he was the country's prime minister. To stand up to such power means being ready to vacate the seat. Not many are willing to do this. Perks and position entice them to no end.
Thirdly, our Parliament must be made more independent than it is now. Make no mistake. In a constitutional monarchy such as Malaysia's, the Parliament is one of three critical institutions.
The other two being the executive and the judiciary. There is a perception among many that the executive has more than its balance of power. The good news is a proposal towards this transformation is in the works. We should hear something this month.
Finally, we must make it impossible for the executive to interfere with the judiciary. Never forget that justice is not only in the doing of it, but also in the seeing of it being done.