STOCKHOLM: The Sarawak government is on the right track in adopting the best practice model of the Swedish Institute of Ombudsman.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the move is important towards establishing the Sarawak ombudsman as a machinery of the state government as well as ensuring good governance, transparency and integrity.
In fact, he said the Sarawak government would not go wrong in choosing Sweden as a model for the ombudsman system.
“As we all know, the Swedish Institute of Ombudsman is one of the oldest in the world since 1809, so the model of the Swedish ombudsman as the first and oldest ombudsmen in the world will be the best point of reference.
“So, I am very confident that the Sarawak government will not go wrong if it follows best practices such as the Swedish Institute of Ombudsman,” he said.
He said this during a briefing with Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman chief Erik Nymansson and senior legal adviser and director of International Coordination of the Swedish Parliament Charlotte De Geer Fallman at the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman Office here on Monday (Aug 21). Abang Johari is leading a Sarawak government delegation on a two-day visit to Sweden.
The Premier said the state government will carry out modifications and adaptations to meet the needs of local system, culture and practices.
According to him, this is in line with Sarawak’s aspiration to become a developed and high-income state by 2030.
“Thus, the state government is confident that this aspiration should be complemented by the best practices of transparency, good governance and integrity in its agencies.
“This is because the ombudsman institution is important in safeguarding the rights and interests of the people while at the same time promoting good and effective governance,” he said.
Commenting on the benchmarking visit, he said the visit was basically to study, understand and benchmark the administrative structure and governance of the ombudsman in Sweden.
“The benchmark visit is also to get legal and procedural input for the state’s Ombudsman Ordinance.
“At the same time, through this visit we can learn how the ombudsman plays its role effectively,” he added.
Accompanying the Premier are Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, Malaysian Ambassador to Sweden Hafizah Abdullah, State Secretary Datuk Amar Abu Bakar Marzuki, Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Integrity and Ombudsman) Datuk Dr Juanda Jaya, Deputy Minister in the Premier’s Department (Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, Sarawak Federal Secretary Ahmad Nazri Mohd Hassan, State Attorney General Datuk Seri Talat Mahmood Abdul Rashid, State Financial Secretary Datuk Seri Dr Wan Lizozman Wan Omar, Deputy Attorney General of Sarawak Datuk Saferi Ali and Sarawak Intergrity and Ombudsman Unit director Semawi Mohamad.
Meanwhile, at 6.30 pm local time, Abang Johari also spared some time to attend an appreciation banquet in Stockholm.
In his brief speech, he thanked the Malaysian Ambassador to Sweden and the Office of the Ombudsman of the Swedish Parliament for ensuring that Sarawak can implement the Sarawak Ombudsman Ordinance in the future.
