KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13: A total of 33 organisations and nine individuals today issued a joint statement calling for the establishment of a Malaysian Ombudsman office, saying that this has been part of a long overdue and key reform that had been promised to the people.
The establishment of a Malaysian Ombudsman office as a central body to manage and resolve public complaints against public service delivery has been consistently touted as a key reform promise under the current government and it has beem repeated by the administration in national policy documents and in official statements both at the domestic and international levels.
“Yet as we approach the final Parliamentary sitting of 2026 in a few months, the Act remains to be seen. We, the undersigned organisations and individuals, demand to know: when will the Ombudsman Malaysia be introduced?” the statement said.
The introduction of an Ombudsman has been an integral element of this administration’s institutional reform efforts. It has been mentioned as a target in the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2024-2028, the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights 2025-2030, and before the UN Human Rights Council during Malaysia’s 4th cycle Universal Periodic Review in 2024.
Most recently, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on Facebook in December 2025 that the Ombudsman Bill was scheduled to be tabled in early 2026; and that the Ombudsman would not only be tasked with managing and resolving public complaints,
but would also be granted a broader mandate over issues of governance, misconduct, whistleblower protection, and freedom of information.
Subsequently in May 2026, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said
reaffirmed the government’s commitment to tabling the Ombudsman Bill in the July Parliamentary sitting. Yet, this has not been done.
“The government itself clearly recognises the importance of the Ombudsman, not just as an independent mechanism for the effective resolution of public complaints, but also now as an oversight body for the whistleblower protection and freedom of information frameworks.
“It is telling that the Freedom of Information Bill 2026 that was recently tabled expressly mentions the role of the Ombudsman as an oversight body, despite the Ombudsman Act itself being non-existent – a paradoxical legal situation. Effective and equitable public service delivery is what operationalises human rights and upholds good governance.”
With this in mind, complaints against public service delivery become a useful tool to identify specific gaps and inadequacies, which can then be remedied to improve service delivery in general.
The present system of public complaints management is not streamlined and often expects the very same departments and agencies which are complained against to resolve those complaints of their own volition. This is not an ideal mechanism, which is why the Ombudsman is so important: it allows for an independent external agency to investigate and resolve complaints without conflict of interest, the statement said.
“In developing this Bill, BHEUU has engaged international experts and Ombudsman institutions across the world, and has set up working committees consisting of government agencies, civil society actors, and academia. So we now ask the Cabinet:
what is the outcome of all the time, effort, and resources that have been invested into this development process?”
The signatories also called on having the following elements in the Ombudsman Act in order to align with
international best practice:
- The Ombudsman must be established as an independent statutory body which is
answerable to Parliament, not the Executive; - The jurisdiction of the Ombudsman’s investigative and supervisory powers must
cover the public services, federal statutory bodies, and privatised public utility
providers without any omissions; - The appointment and removal of Ombudspersons must be done via parliamentary
selection and scrutiny, with sufficiently clear statutory criteria to ensure
transparency and avoid executive interference in the affairs of the body; - The Ombudsman must be granted sufficient autonomy to manage its own affairs
without Executive control, allowing independent decision-making on matters such
as staffing and budgeting; - The investigative powers of the Ombudsman must be sufficiently broad to facilitate
effective investigation of complaints, including the ability to launch own-motion
investigations, compel cooperation by witnesses and unrestricted access to
relevant documents and premises; - Measures to ensure implementation of the Ombudsman’s post-investigation
recommendations must be set up, such as a statutory requirement for government
bodies to provide written responses on the status of implementation, and if
recommendations are not implemented, written reasons explaining why; and - A specialised Parliamentary Select Committee must be specifically constituted to
deliberate on the Ombudsman’s reports, conduct follow-up inquiries, issue reform
recommendations, and perform oversight on the Ombudsman itself.
“Once introduced, the Ombudsman has the potential to spearhead the improvement of public service delivery at the federal level and to improve public trust in government. This is an opportunity that the Anwar administration must not lose sight of, ” the statement further said, urging the government to:
- Provide a clear and transparent timeline for the introduction of the Ombudsman
Bill; - Ensure that the Ombudsman Bill sets out a progressive, rights-based framework
for the structure and operations of the Ombudsman Malaysia that aligns with
international best practice, with due regard for the importance of autonomy and
structural safeguards against executive interference; and - Continue engaging with civil society and academics on the development,
implementation, and reassessment of key legislation, policies and reform agendas.
The statement was endorsed by the following organisations and individuals:
- Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center)
- Aliran
- Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)
- Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (CAGED)
- Community Action Nexus Berhad
- Consumers Association of Penang
- Demokrat Malaya
- Family Frontiers
- G25 Malaysia
- Gabungan Darurat Iklim Malaysia Berhad
- Gabungan Pilihan Raya Bersih & Adil (BERSIH)
- Greenpeace Malaysia
- Himpunan Advokasi Rakyat Malaysia
- Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS)
- JEJAKA
- justice for sisters
- MANDIRI
- New Generation University Malaya
- North South Initiative
- People Like Us Hang Out! (PLUHO)
- Persatuan Aktivis Sahabat Alam (KUASA)
- Persatuan Martabat Untuk Semua Petaling Jaya (Martabat)
- Persatuan Promosi Hak Asasi Manusia (PROHAM)
- Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam
- Pride in Research
- Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek SAMA)
- Pusat KOMAS
- Rasuah Busters
- Sahabat Alam Malaysia
- SIUMAN Collective
- Society for Equality, Respect and Trust for All Sabah
- Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
- Sustainable Development Network Malaysia (SUSDEN Malaysia)
Individuals:
- Brendon Gan
- Daniel Lim
- Datuk Hussamuddin Yaacub
- Hasbeemasputra Abu Bakar
- Kennedy Michael
- Logann Kumarasu
- Muhammad Ariff Mohamad Nizam
- Shah Hakim Zain
- Tang Yi Ze
–WE