Bersih chairman Thomas Fann said the Constitution should also be amended to empower Parliament to hire its own staff who would not be categorised as civil servants.

Earlier, the group gathered at the Parliament building to hand over a memorandum of suggestions on the Parliamentary Services Act (PSA).

The memorandum was also signed by 38 other NGOs.

The memorandum was received by several ministers, notably, law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar. Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah, Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad were also present.

Fann said although the PSA was one of the points agreed upon in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the government and Pakatan Harapan last year, a draft bill was yet to be seen.

“There have been no consultations with civil society or other stakeholders, and there’s very little mention. For us, this is one of the most important components of the MoU.

“The anti-hopping bill is important, but this (parliamentary reform) is substantial as it’s about the sovereignty of Parliament, our (people’s) house,” he said.

In its memorandum, Bersih also called for a parliamentary service commission that would be elected for a five-year term and based on merit and free from executive influence.

The main duties of the commission, Bersih said, would cover parliamentary posts, salaries and benefits, as well as determining the allocation of parliamentary budgets.