PH chief secretary Saifuddin Abdullah said the opposition coalition’s manifesto for the next general election (GE14) will be proof of this,
“The manifesto for GE14, which is now in the final stages of preparation, would focus on reforms in the political, economic and social sectors.
“The fact of the matter is we have not made any U-turn on reforms,” he said in a commentary published in The Edge.
“We have clearly stated that the mission of PH is to build a clean, accountable and capable government that is committed to institutional and political reforms that will protect the rights of all races and improve the quality of life of Malaysians.”
During the coalition’s annual convention on Jan 7, Saifuddin had announced Mahathir, 92, who was prime minister for 22 years, as PH’s candidate for prime minister in the event it wins GE14.
Two terms for prime minister
Saifuddin said the reforms will take a five-pronged approach, firstly by ensuring that the prime minister can only serve for a maximum of two terms and cannot hold the finance ministry portfolio.
“We will also strengthen Parliament to have it play a more effective role in checking the executive, and create parliamentary committees to oversee each government ministry and other important issues,” he said.
He added that the reforms’ second focus would be to strengthen public institutions, such as the Election Commission (EC), Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Attorney-General’s (AG) chambers and the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC).
“We will ensure that the EC is independent, that the appointment of its members goes through the relevant parliamentary committee and that it meets the demands of Bersih 2.0 to have a clean and fair electoral system,” Saifuddin said.
“The third focus would be to abolish, review or amend repressive and ‘anti-rakyat’ laws to ensure that people’s rights were enhanced and protected.”
He said such laws included the Sedition Act 1948, National Security Council Act 2016, Prevention of Crime Act 1959, Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015, Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, Universities and University Colleges Act 1971, Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 and the Penal Code.
According to Saifuddin, the manifesto’s fourth focus would be to fight corruption and increase transparency by introducing political financing reforms, implementing open tenders and making it easier to report corruption.
“And lastly, we will reform the police force and civil service to empower and make them more effective.
“This will include introducing the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), avoid deaths in police custody, address the stateless children problem and review the functions of the Special Branch.”