Koalisi untuk Pemilu Bersih dan Adil [The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections] (BERSIH) calls on Malaysia's 21 million voters to exercise their right to vote in the 15th General Election to be held before 9 December 2022. The Malaysian Parliament was dissolved by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on 10 October.
“Although many parties, including BERSIH, have called for the GE15 (15th General Election) not to be held during the rainy season. This will make it difficult for many voters, especially in flooded areas across the country and reduce voter turnout. However, we need to stand up and show our aspirations for the form of state we want. The most effective and appropriate step is through the ballot box,” said BERSIH Chairman, Thomas Fann, as quoted from a press release received by electionhouse.org on Thursday (10/13).
BERSIH urges five things for policy makers, the National Election Commission, political parties, and voters to do. First, facilitating the voting rights of overseas voters. The Election Commission is asked to set a minimum campaign period of 21 days so that postal ballots for overseas voters can be received by voters before polling day. BERSIH also encourages the introduction of preliminary voting for voters moving to vote in the areas of Sabah and Sarawak.
"Especially voters in Sabah and Sarawak who work and study in the Peninsula, as well as West Malaysian voters in Sabah and Sarawak," said Thomas.
The second urge is to stop the discriminatory legal process by politicians and political parties who use political power to avoid punishment or take revenge. The judicial process must be free from government interference. The role of the Public Prosecutor is deemed necessary to be separated from the Attorney General who is a political official.
The third urge is to strengthen parliament by affirming its role as a counterweight to executive power. BERSIH views the need for parliament to demand transparency and accountability of the government.
“Parliamentary reforms such as the return of the Parliamentary Services Act as well as the empowerment of Special Committees and Backbenchers and Opposition Parliamentarians through amendments to the Meeting Rules are very important. The people must vote for parties and coalitions that clearly have a commitment in their manifesto to carry out this institutional reform,” explained Thomas.
The fourth urge is to reject the increasingly rampant corruption in Malaysia. BERSIH invites voters to vote for clean politicians and parties who are committed to taking concrete steps, such as passing the Political Financing Law, implementing the National Anti-Corruption Plan and reforming the Malaysian Corruption Eradication Commission so that it can become an independent body and not be used as a weapon against political opponents.
The last urge, political stabilization. Malaysia's political situation has been unstable since the Sheraton Move. Laws and regulations specifying the kingdom's police policies and election dates are needed to stabilize politics.
“BERSIH proposed a Fixed Term Parliament Act to ensure greater certainty for all of us. To restore Parliament as the institution to determine with certainty the formation of government we propose amendments to the House Standing Orders to provide for a Confirmatory Vote of Confidence for any incoming Prime Minister and a Constructive Vote of No-Confidence for any Prime Minister who may have lost the support of the majority of MPs. These mechanisms would prevent the collapse of governments through sometimes dubious statements of withdrawal of support of the PM issued outside Parliament”, explained Thomas.
BERSIH will be launching various activities to encourage a high voter turnout such as the #UndiMasaDepan [#VoteFuture] campaign with short videos and posters to encourage all to vote. We are also recruiting Election Observers to observe the election and report election offences. BERSIH will also be launching a book, “Making Democracy Work – Institutional Reforms for Malaysia”. This book is a compilation of 16 research reports produced in the last two years and contains key recommendations to repair Malaysia’s broken political system. []
This article translated by Catherine Natalia
