OMBUDSMAN MALAYSIA BILL EXPECTED TO BE TABLED IN PARLIAMENT EARLY 2025

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 (Bernama) -- The Ombudsman Malaysia Bill is expected to be tabled at the next Dewan Rakyat session, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), M. Kulasegaran.

He said that several workshops on the proposed establishment of Ombudsman Malaysia have been held with stakeholders, including government agencies and non-governmental organisations.

“The plan was to present the bill during this session, but the consultation process required more time. It is now likely to be introduced in Parliament in February or March next year,” he said while winding up the debate on the 2025 Supply Bill at the committee level for his ministry in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Kulasegaran said holistic engagement sessions, which included focus group discussions with state government agencies, had been completed for the Sabah and Northern zones, covering Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak.

These sessions will continue in the Sarawak, Eastern, Southern, and Central zones before being finalised with central agencies by the first quarter of 2025.

On June 12, the Cabinet agreed to implement a holistic engagement session by the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister's Department, the Public Complaints Bureau, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, and enforcement agencies over a three-month period to determine the mechanisms for establishing and implementing Ombudsman Malaysia.

Previously, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said Ombudsman Malaysia was proposed to handle complaints related to maladministration an to  improve governance in the public service system at the federal level.

-- BERNAMA