PETALING JAYA: Institutional and economic reforms that are already in the works need to be implemented as soon as possible, says Gobind Singh Deo.
The DAP national chairman said these included speeding up bills to separate the roles of the Attorney-General and Public Prosecutor, limiting the tenure of the Prime Minister to two terms and enacting long-overdue amendments to the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA) and the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA).
"The groundwork for these changes has already been laid.
"Both the AG-PP separation bill and the two-term Prime Minister limit are prepared, while a ministerial statement on SOSMA amendments was tabled in Parliament as far back as February last year," he said in a statement on Monday (Aug 17).
"Amendments to the PAA have similarly been under discussion for months. We must finalise and table them without any further delays.
"The government acted with speed by holding a special parliamentary session for the Royal Commission of Inquiry report on Tabung Haji recently," he said.
"A similar route ought to be taken for these crucial reform bills, or additional sitting days must be added to the upcoming Dewan Rakyat session specifically dedicated to these," he added.
Gobind, who is also Digital Minister, issued the statement following a vote by party delegates at its national congress on Sunday (Aug 16) to remain in the unity government.
Gobind said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim needs to take action immediately to realise the reforms.
"Urgent and concrete steps must now be taken to implement our core agenda.
"There must be clear, unyielding timelines set for foundational institutional reforms," he said, adding that the party is fully committed to ensuring the reforms are carried through without further delay.
"We should look towards getting these bills passed before the end of this year," he added.
