MyOBI is an IDEAS initiative to create greater demand for accountability at the state level. The index is part of our response to a democratic opening created by the 2018 election result and subsequent change of government. IDEAS believe that the opening of civic space will be more meaningful if civil society and the public are more well-informed and equipped to participate in the democratic process. The pandemic has also strengthened the need for a more transparent and accountable government and opened wider opportunities to use the internet as a way to achieve this.

The overall results indicate that some state governments in Malaysia have not disclosed adequate budget information to the public and the level of oversight by the state assembly on budget is not sufficient, especially during the formulation process (which this study focuses on). The index helps identify several low-hanging fruit reform actions that can be taken by state governments and state assemblies to improve budget transparency and oversight. This report discusses the overall findings of this study as well as these reform actions.

Visit Pantau Wang kita website to find more about this index.