15 June, 2021
Malaysia needs broad-based policy-making to beat pandemic and save livelihood
Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (GBM) calls for the broadening of political base for government policies to be competent, comprehensive and coherent to beat the Covid-19 pandemic and save livelihood of Malaysians. This is best achieved by a “confidence and supply agreement” (CSA) between the government and opposition parties to effect a political ceasefire and restore political stability.
Instead of overcoming the political crisis since February 2020, the Emergency has severely weakened Malaysia’s response to the pandemic in two ways.
First, the questionable majority of the Government preserved by the Emergency has resulted in insular and narrow-based policy-making, marked by blindspots, incoordination and disconnect from the public.
Second, the suspension of parliamentary oversight has worsened the “dua darjat” phenomenon, double-standard in law-enforcement and queue-jumping in vaccination and fueled public discontentment giving rise to suspicion of corruption when the government seems underperforming and incapable to solve many issues of NIP implementation since the programme started more than 3 months ago.
GBM calls upon the Government and Opposition parties to express their willingness to enter a CSA that
• paves way for broadbased policy making and parliamentary oversight through a reopened and empowered parliament with every ministry scrutinized by a parliamentary select committee and every opposition MP and government backbencher sitting on at least one such committee;
• ensures political stability for an extended period before a pre-agreed date for the 15th General Election (GE15) so that all parties and MPs can concentrate on policies instead of electioneering;
• ensures equitable treatment of all MPs in committee appointment and constituency allocation, and from selective prosecution.
GBM finds the idea of unity government both inviable and undesirable. Extensive reshuffling of cabinet and inter-party negotiation for ministerial portfolios will likely cause more inter-party and inter-personal power struggle than reducing it, hence first causing more disunity. And in the unlikely event of success, an all-party unity government also means no opposition and weaker parliamentary oversights.
GBM opposes the idea of a National Operations Council (MAGERAN), which will further narrow instead of broadening the political base of policy-making. An unelected body consisting one or few politicians with the heads of civil service, military and police has no democratic legitimacy. Any misstep by MAGERAN may trigger a colossal public backlash that erodes the legitimacy of the bureaucracy, security forces and even the constitutional monarchy.
Issued by
Badlishah Sham Baharin,
Chair, Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia (GBM)
For and on behalf of the Executive Council, GBM
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