KUALA LUMPUR: The National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) Dashboard is a significant step forward in enhancing transparency and accountability in the country’s anti-corruption agenda, said Malaysian Corruption Watch (MCW) president, Jais Abdul Karim.
He said that public access to the performance data of the NACS would raise awareness among citizens and enable them to assess the effectiveness of these efforts.
“However, we (MCW) emphasise that the transparency of the information in this dashboard must be free from manipulation or concealment of facts that could obscure the real situation,“ he said in a statement today.
Therefore, Jais called on the NACS Dashboard to feature real-time, objective data that can be independently audited, similar to the National Audit Department’s Dashboard, which provides transparency reports on the performance of ministries and agencies.
To ensure the effectiveness of this dashboard, MCW proposed that the displayed data should be detailed, covering clear metrics on the implementation level of anti-corruption policies, the success of interventions, and the challenges faced.
“Regular and independent audits by third parties are necessary to ensure that the information provided is unbiased and not controlled by vested interests.
“Follow-up actions and improvements based on the dashboard’s monitoring results should not merely serve as data displays without action,“ he added.
Jais further stressed the need for strong political commitment to ensure that the NACS Dashboard does not merely become a gimmick of administration.
In this regard, he said that the highest leadership within the government and the public sector must demonstrate genuine commitment to achieving the objectives of NACS by institutionalising a culture of transparency and integrity at all levels of administration.
He emphasised that MCW believes the effectiveness of the NACS Dashboard depends on public and media involvement in monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of the strategy.
The NACS Dashboard, launched by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) last Thursday, allows the public to monitor the progress of NACS.
