This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on December 8, 2025 - December 14, 2025

Last week, a High Court judge — noting that taxpayers are increasingly footing the bill for large payouts in recent cases against the government — suggested it may be time for the government to seek full or partial compensation from the actual wrongdoers in public office.

Justice Su Tiang Joo’s remarks come after the court ordered the government to pay nearly RM37 million to Pastor Raymond Koh’s family for enforced disappearance and more than RM3 million to the family of missing activist Amri Che Mat for negligence in the police investigation.

He highlighted the irony that the more serious the misconduct and the higher the damages awarded, the more taxpayers end up paying — even though the wrongdoers were the very authorities tasked with keeping Malaysians safe and preventing and investigating crime.

“By seeking contribution and indemnity, the bad apples can be weeded out so that the majority of the good men and women will not be tarred and dragged down, and the term institutional failure will not be raised again,” Su wrote in his 126-page full grounds of judgment on the Amri case, released on the judiciary’s website last week.

His suggestion deserves serious consideration. In the corporate world, directors are held personally accountable by regulators for breaches of duty, negligence or misconduct. When mistakes are costly, those responsible are expected to answer for them — not shareholders.

Shouldn’t the same standard apply to public officials? This would not only reduce the strain on public funds but also help strengthen governance and restore confidence in the country’s law enforcement agencies.

At the end of the day, taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for mistakes made by people in power. If the private sector expects individuals to take responsibility for their actions, the government should do the same.

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