KUCHING, June 14 — The Sarawak government plans to establish an ombudsman system in a move to further improve checks and balances in the state’s administration.
Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said a study would be made regarding the ombudsman system being practiced in Sweden in an effort to create such a system in Sarawak.
“I will be visiting Sweden together with the state attorney and also stakeholders for us to make a comprehensive study of the system before it is proposed to report directly to the state legislative assembly,” he told a press conference after attending a seminar on financial crime here today.
An ombudsman is an official or semi-official party that is responsible for receiving and investigating complaints from the public who are dissatisfied with any matter related to the government machinery.
“Now we (already) have an ombudsman system under a deputy minister and we have officers trained by the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission), but we want a more specific legislation to strengthen the checks and balances in our state addministration, not just for one department,” he said.
Abang Johari said the results of the study will later be the basis for the state government to draft a bill regarding the legal system.
When explaining on the selection of Sweden as a model for the implementation of the system in Sarawak, he said the Scandinavian country had started it since the 19th century and this has made Sweden a country with high integrity standards.
According to him, the country’s ombudsman system allows checks and balances to be carried out by representatives of the people regardless of whether they are supporters of the government or otherwise.
