KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 — The government will introduce the Public Sector Governance Act and Integrity Plan, as a guide on corruption-free governance for all entities, both public and private sectors.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the move was in line with the government’s commitment to restore Malaysia’s image at the international level, thus raising its status as a dignified and anti-corruption country.

He said that the government is also aiming for the top 25 positions in the global Corruption Perceptions Index, within 10 years.

"The government also emphasises strengthening of self-identity and morality in every Malaysian. The importance of anti-corruption awareness education should be disseminated to all ages.

"In the meantime, the agenda of promoting and educating the public about noble values to build commendable characters will continue to be intensified,” he said when tabling the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) Mid-Term Review at the Dewan Rakyat today.

Anwar, who is also the minister of finance, said that the move was one of the four main issues that the government is committed to implementing reforms in the public service, including Governance and the Institutional Framework and legislation related to corruption.

Meanwhile, he said that the National Digital Identity pilot project, for secure and protected identity verification, is expected to be rolled out in 2025, in line with the government's transition to the digitalisation of services, which is Government Technology (GovTech) under the main shift of Technology-Based and Digital Industry.

The prime minister announced that the Inisiatif Kemudahan Rakyat (IKR), an initiative which allows people to make applications directly online, has seen a total of 3,776 IKR applications received as of August 31.

To streamline the public service machinery, Anwar said that the Special Task Force on Agency Reform (STAR) was established to help resolve delayed matters and speed up project implementation and service delivery to the people.

He said that STAR successfully implemented a pilot project to reduce congestion and patient waiting times in the Green Zone of the Emergency and Trauma Department, Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital, Klang, Selangor, and this will be expanded to other hospitals.

"Apart from that, the expatriate passport approval period will be reduced from 87 days to only five days for companies which meet the criteria, while cashless payment methods to deal with corruption will be expanded,” he said.

He added that the government continues to aim for Malaysia to rank in the top 20 in the Government Efficiency Sub-Index in the Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Yearbook, at the end of the 12MP period.

He also urged the government machinery, which he described as the main engine of the country, to improve delivery efficiency, while all issues involving governance and coordination are resolved immediately.

Apart from that, the prime minister said that the newly launched MYJalan application, to facilitate the public to make complaints to the government about road damage, has received more than 1,000 complaints, as of today.

He described it as a positive sign that the people's proactive involvement in mobilising energy with the government will result in safer and better road networks. — Bernama