Make good on promises, NGOs tell government

Fann: The unity government has achieved a sense of optimism that Malaysia can move away from fruitless politicking.

CUTTING the cost of living, stopping wastages, reforming institutions, and the list goes on.

That’s just naming a few of the promises the government needs to fulfil beyond its 100 days in office, say various non-governmental organisations.

The most important pledge that must be realised is separating the role of the public prosecutor from that of the Attorney-General, says Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) chairman Thomas Fann.

“Doing this would remove any suspicion by the public of executive interference with ongoing and new prosecution cases.

“Such perception, whether true or not, would greatly undermine the integrity of the government,” he adds.

Currently in Malaysia, the Attorney-General, who is the chief legal adviser to the government, also acts as the public prosecutor, who has the power to decide on prosecution.

Both Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional had pledged to separate both of these roles in their election manifestos for the 15th general election.

Nevertheless, Fann says the unity government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has achieved a sense of optimism that Malaysia can move away from fruitless politicking.

“Instead, we can start focusing on what is really important: better governance, institutional reforms and delivering economic prosperity to the people,” he says.

He finds that Anwar has only made a few missteps as Prime Minister so far - apart from appointing Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamid, who is still facing corruption charges, as Deputy Prime Minister.

“I believe Anwar’s focus on eradicating poverty and fighting corruption resonate well with the public.

“His commitment to spend prudently until the economy is restored is underlined with his austerity measures like the pay cuts for ministers and reduction in Constituency Development Fund for government MPs,” Fann adds.

However, more commitment is needed from Anwar to implement reforms that would stabilise politics in this country.

“This includes giving equal allocations to opposition MPs, parliamentary reforms that give government backbenchers and opposition meaningful roles in select committees and introducing the Fixed Term Parliament Act,” he says.

The proposed Act, which was part of the Pakatan election manifesto, will ensure that the dissolution of Parliament and state assemblies will only be called for at the end of the term to minimise political instability.

“But so far, there has been little mention of the Pakatan’s election manifesto or the aligned manifestos of all the parties of the unity government.

“We hope that it does not signal that they will not be fulfilling these promises,” expresses Fann.

On whether the cooperation between the political parties in the government is going strong, he says the coalition agreement signed between them in December was an expression of their commitment to support Anwar as Prime Minister.

“The outcome of the six state elections could also test the commitment of some partners,” he feels.

Qyira: Moving forward, the unity government should prioritise rebuilding public confidence and trust in institutions.

With Malaysia’s first unity government at the helm, Undi18 co-founder Qyira Yusri says the current situation is fascinating to see as it unfolds.

“Because of the unique composition of the government, I believe the special select committees to be formed under the current Parliament would be important and interesting to note.

“Such parliamentary committees would be a good check and balance to investigate issues like the littoral combat ship scandal.

“These committees can raise their views and investigate beyond the powers of the executive,” she says.

On the economy, Qyira hopes the government will look into raising the purchasing power of the people to deal with the rising cost of living.

“There’s a limit as to how much the government can intervene in the prices of goods.

“But while we are struggling with the price control of items, what we can control is to give a dignified living wage, especially to youths.

“This can be done by providing incentives to employers, raising the RM1,500 minimum wage to be closer to our living wage and improving our employment laws to help with the situation,” she says.

In 2018, Bank Negara Malaysia had stated that for Kuala Lumpur, the living wage (income level needed for a minimum acceptable living standard) for a single adult was RM2,700.

Moving forward, Qyira says the government should prioritise rebuilding public confidence and trust in institutions like the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and Election Commission (EC).

“With six state elections coming up, the EC’s role will be scrutinized once more until they are under the Parliament’s purview and outside the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Even past 100 days, it will be interesting to see the laws to be introduced or amended.

“People would be looking forward to the amendment on citizenships (to allow Malaysian mothers to confer citizenship to their children born overseas) and the Bill on political funding,” she says.

Hoping for more action to be taken by the government, G25 co-founder Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Kassim believes the political climate does look more encouraging with the unity government.

“This is something I hope will gain momentum in the coming state elections.

“The sound bites from the Prime Minister give hope for reforms.

“If the reforms can happen soon, the public’s confidence level will grow,” he says.