By Anis Mohd Sohaimi

MahWengKwai & Associates (“MWKA”) believes that, as a firm and as individuals, we have a responsibility to give back to the community through our various CSR programmes. Much forethought and careful planning are given to our CSR events as we strive to respond to the needs of our local community with the goal of making a positive impact on the lives of the people we are reaching out to.

Our most effective and inspiring CSR activity in 2018 was supporting the Institutional Reforms Committee (“IRC”) by creating and managing the IRC’s official website (http://www.reforms.my/) and by seconding one of our associates to assist the IRC with its hearings and meetings.

The IRC was established by the Council of Eminent Persons on 15.5.2018. On 21.5.2018, the IRC called on members of the public and stakeholders to submit their proposals for institutional reforms to the IRC. This was the first time the public was called on to have their say and MWKA strongly believed in giving the public a voice and making the IRC as accessible as possible to the Malaysian public. To this end, MWKA proposed to sponsor, create and manage the IRC’s official website to publicise information on the IRC and to receive electronic submissions from the public. The IRC gladly accepted MWKA’s proposal.

The website was managed by the MWKA team who ensured that the latest Press Statements made by the IRC and news on the IRC’s work were uploaded to the website. The team also attended to the translation of the website and press releases with the object of making the website available in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil. 

The response to the website was overwhelming. Within the first day of the website’s launch, MWKA received almost 100 submissions. By the end of July, around 580 submissions were received through the website. This represents about half of the total 1,000 submissions received by the IRC. 

Additionally, MWKA seconded Ms Anis Mohd Sohaimi to the IRC to assist the IRC with its hearings and meetings. This link between MWKA and the IRC allowed the recommendations submitted through the website to be promptly brought to the IRC’s attention and considered during the research and drafting of the IRC’s proposals for institutional reforms. 

By mid-July 2018, the IRC completed its report and had submitted the same to the former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. However, the report has remained confidential and has yet to be made public. Members of the IRC, including the firm’s founder, Dato’ Mah Weng Kwai has urged the Government to make the report public. The firm will continue to strive to allow the public to be involved in making the country a better place.

For more information on the IRC, please see the list of news articles below: 

15 May 2018

16 May 2018

17 May 2018

21 May 2018

22 May 2018

23 May 2018

24 May 2018

31 May 2018

1 June 2018

4 June 2018

13 June 2018

19 June 2018

20 June 2018

26 June 2018

27 June 2018

2 July 2018

16 July 2018

17 July 2018

7 August 2018

9 May 2019

16 September 2019

17 November 2019

8 January 2020

20 January 2020

25 March 2020

By Anis Mohd Sohaimi