Under-the-radar Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) has out-smarted all other coalitions by promising a practical and realisable top priority plan to wipe out corruption in government in its GE15 election manifesto. If it wins at the polls, GTA plans to put the appointment of nine key government officers under the purview of Parliament where they will be selected through select parliamentary committees.

The key officers are the attorney-general, inspector-general of police, chief justice, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner, armed forces chief, chief secretary to the government, Treasury secretary-general, auditor-general, and the Bank Negara Malaysia governor.

Selected by Parliament rather than appointed by the executive, they will be answerable to Parliament which means they will no longer be influenced by the executive. What makes it a remarkable plan is that it can be accomplished within the first session of the new Parliament. Once approved by Parliament, corruption in the government will be staunched overnight!

Other manifestos also have an anti-corruption plan. Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) is to create an anti-corruption court; Umno-Barisan Nasional’s (Umno-Barisan) is to upgrade the Institut Integrity Malaysia into a commission. Pakatan Harapan (PH) has a list of improvements in procedures. All these will take time and resources but not solve the problem as GTA’s.

GTA’s other plans include enacting a political funding law, declaration of assets by top politicians and government officers, establishing a special commission on integrity and corruption, addressing the rising cost of living, raising incomes and creating more jobs, giving access to higher education for B40 students, developing comprehensive food and energy sustainability and security, and implementing laws on climate change.

PH, PN and Umno-Barisan have similar plans but GTA’s No 1 priority of putting the selection of the top officers in government under Parliament is the single most effective solution to corruption in the government. Once implemented, the tide of the spread of corruption stops immediately.

This point alone should draw more to vote for GTA.

GTA, still unregistered, is fielding its candidates under its component party Pejuang. If these Pejuang candidates win enough seats, a government with GTA will not only deliver the corruption-free government all Malaysians want but it will be a stable coalition free of corrupt diva Umno which is prone to tantrum-throwing and causing political stability when it doesn’t get what it wants.

Such a coalition will also be free of incompetent PN which is influenced by the Medieval-minded religious zealots of PAS, both of which are a bane to progress and religious freedom.

A GTA-membered coalition will also mean that Anwar will not be the Prime Minister, which may be good for the country. It would be another “national embarrassment” if a sitting PM faces a sodomy charge in court and loses.

GTA’s No 1 corruption-free priority will also remove the opportunities for abuse of power and a repeat of all the abuses of power and constitutional lapses we have been witnessing since jailed former prime minister Najib Razak’s time, will not occur.

The government will finally be free to get on with the business of governing and taking care of the people.

A vote for GTA is a vote for a stable and corruption-free future Malaysia. I hope Malaysian voters see it.