KUALA LUMPUR:
Law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said today cited pushback from certain states as one of the reasons behind the delay in setting up the proposed Ombudsman Malaysia.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat, she said stakeholder engagements had revealed “objections from several states” to the idea of the independent body.
“Some states already have their own ombudsman. Some are in the process of setting one up, and some do not want any involvement, even in terms of monitoring state-level agencies,” she said in response to a supplementary question from Syahredzan Johan (PH-Bangi).
Syahredzan had asked whether the proposed Ombudsman would handle matters outside the jurisdiction of the federal government, such as issues under local…