Institution reforms are important to ensure that the government formed is fair and equal to all of society. Harapan governments in Selangor Penang and Negeri Sembilan have demonstrated results in various institutional reforms in our terms in office unlike the BN/PN counterparts. Below are the key institutional reforms that Harapan is committed to implement should it government on the 19th of November 2022.
Fixed parliament term
If voted into power this Nov 19, HARAPAN will introduce the Fixed Parliament Term Act to ensure that the dissolution of Parliament and DUN will only be called for at the end of the term to minimise political instability. Some look examples are Sweden, Australia, Norway and the United States.
In the last 2 years, the country has been on the edge of its seat wondering if the post Sheraton Move governments will call for early elections. This is very disruptive to society, and it affects, but not limited to:
- Functions of government agencies and regulatory authorities, in introducing new policy, programs, or conducting enforcement action;
- Planning busy and downtime for various government agencies involved in conducting the elections, namely, SPR, Police, Teachers, Local Authorities, etc;
- Corporate activities and events, such as launching new products and services;
- The supply chain involved in the preparation and supply of election materials;
- Investment decisions.
Absentee Ballot
This and every election people spend a lot of money to go out of their way to travel home to cast their votes, especially youths who are studying in a different state or working in the economic centres of the country such as the Klang Valley, Penang or Johor Bahru. Many people who are unable to afford this journey, or unable to make time for voting will have to forgo their rights to vote.Public holidays help, in terms of travel time but it does not solve this problem. Changing their voting location is also not viable as they have only temporarily relocated to a different location.
Absentee Ballots can come in many ways or forms, postal voting is an option.However, this can happen through voting centres throughout the country. This will make voting more accessible and not an expensive right.
Extending the right to vote to voters outside of constituencies especially Sabah and Sarawak diaspora that are living in Peninsular Malaysia as well as those working or studying in Sabah and Sarawak, and vice versa.
Review of Major Appointments
Nomination for roles such as the Public Prosecutor, primary positions in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Election Commission of Malaysia, and the Inspector-General of Police must be vetted by a Special Parliamentary Committee that is made up of members from various parties.
While most of the government should be accountable to the Ministers respectively, there are some positions that need to be impartial in carrying out their duties and to ensure that partisan politics doesn’t get in the way of doing the right thing. People in these positions cannot be cronies of the Prime Minister, and must feel safe in executing their duty.
Vetting by the parliamentary committee will ensure that the best candidates, which are accepted across the political divide, no single political party can put through their nominee especially when other parties feel the person may be biassed.
Security of tenure shall be given to appointed individuals to ensure that their duration of service is not arbitrarily cut short by a sitting Prime Minister. This will give confidence to the officers to take action on the Ministers, members of the ruling government and even the Prime Minister himself. For example, in the case of 1MDB, the AG was removed when taking action on Najib Razak, and this should never happen again.
Equal Resources – Parliament Budget Office and Constituency Development Fund
The backbencher and opposition members of Parliament have always been at a disadvantage to ministers, because of the lack of data and details that are available mostly to government officers and ministers.
Establishing a Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) that will provide objective services to all Members of Parliament regardless of party for issues pertaining to estimated financial implication, or cost, policies and their policy recommendations. This will improve the policy-making process and level the playing field by providing access to cost estimation services and other forms of analysis that is usually exclusively available to the government.
HARAPAN will provide equal Constituency Development Funds (CDF) for Members of Parliament regardless of party because they represent the interests of voters in their constituencies. This allocation must be relayed through the Parliament and not the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). No constituency in this country should be marginalised or cut off because its people voted for the other political party. This will also stop the incentive for opposition MPs to defect to the government party, whether formally or informally.