Guan Eng: Whither 'paradigm shift' if no IPCMC?

DAP has poured scorn on minister Paul Low’s claim yesterday of ‘long-term solutions and paradigm shifts’ to corruption, saying that none is possible unless there is commitment to institutional reforms.

These include implementing the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), public asset declaration by senior government officials, and competitive open tenders, said party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

He said the party could not imagine what long-term solution to corruption can be found by the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department without these reforms.

“Low cannot blame Malaysians for thinking that all his rhetoric about transparency and accountability are merely ‘cosmetic changes’, when he has changed his tune from his (former) position as Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) president calling for open competitive tenders and public declaration of assets by government ministers.

“As long as Low is willing to commit himself to the institutional changes mentioned, then the people are willing to give him not just 100 days but 100 weeks.

“Of course Paul Low has to resign if they are not fulfilled,” he said in a statement today.

Instead, Low has become a BN apologist since his appointment to the cabinet last month, he said.

Inauspicious start for Low

Lim was responding to Low’s speech at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) convention yesterday, where he dismissed critics pressuring him to deliver results as merely wanting quick “cosmetic changes”.

“So I am sorry to disappoint them (the critics). Instead, I will strongly push for long-term solutions or even whole paradigm shifts that will penetrate much deeper to address the root causes of each issue,” he pledged.

Low (right) drew flak when shortly after news of his cabinet post as minister in charge of transparency, he dithered on calls for public asset declaration saying it has drawbacks such as exposing politician’s family members to security risks.

He also courted controversy in being vague on the issue of implementing the much called for IPCMC following the escalating cases of death in custody in the past month.

Low's ministership itself has also raised eyebrows for having been obtained not through being elected but in receiving a gratuitous senatorship, and worse, for being sworn in as a minister even before he was appointed as a senator.