Any action to cast aspersions against the integrity of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), its governor and senior officials will have adverse consequences, Group of 25 (G25), a group of former Malay civil servants warned.
G25 said while there were doubts on the independence of the judiciary and capacity of other institutions in the country, BNM’s strength and capability has been the single most important factor contributing to investor confidence and favourable economic prospects for the country.
The group singled out Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz’s tenure at BNM as a role model with regards to upholding good governance in the financial sector, as well as building the human capital and technical expertise of the central bank.
“Governor Zeti has gained the respect of her peers globally in liberalising the financial sector while ensuring sound banking institutions and stability of the Malaysian financial sector,” G25 said yesterday.
The group said Malaysia has put in place regulations and processes which have been assessed as compliant with global standards, and it is important that BNM be allowed to follow these processes and conduct its investigations in a fair and judicious manner.
“Efforts by any part of the government to create doubts on the integrity of the BNM and its officials will be tantamount to interfering with the investigation processes,” it said.
G25 also stressed that key institutions, including the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), should undertake their functions independently which will help the country to redeem itself amid the governance issue and financial setback.
BNM, MACC and Attorney General Chambers Malaysia (AGC) were under the spotlight for forming an interagency task force with the police to probe on 1Malaysia Development Bhd and RM2.6 billion money trail allegedly deposited into the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak’s account.
The task force, however, was disbanded and the Attorney General (AG) Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail has since been replaced with Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali.
G25 said the transfer of the MACC officials erode public confidence that investigations will be thorough and objective.
“Now that BNM has completed its investigations and submitted its report to the AG, credibility of the AGC is dependent on the actions that it will be taking on the report,” it said
Link to original article in The Malaysian Reserve