SHAH ALAM - The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) is calling for strong and effective check and balance mechanisms to protect public interest under the leadership of 10th Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's unity government.
In a statement today, the electoral watchdog's steering committee said it noted with some concerns Anwar's remark yesterday that he was not considering the role of the Finance Minister "at the moment".
It said Anwar should not for a moment consider it as it would totally remove any semblance of check and balance in the inner sanctum of his own cabinet.
It also urged the government to enable the formation of a shadow cabinet for the opposition with commensurate salary, resources and information access for its shadow ministers.
"Every ministry will be scrutinised by only a shadow minister who would be paid half the ministerial salary and provided policy staff but no other perks.
"To further strengthen scrutiny, for each ministry, there should also be a parliamentary select committee, filled by both government and opposition backbenchers, with its own policy staff," it said.
The group also wanted the passing of the Parliamentary Services Act to be expedited so that the resources for these additional committees and shadow cabinet can come directly from Parliament instead of the Finance Ministry.
"Standing Orders in the Dewan Rakyat has to be amended to reduce government control of the agenda and time, improving opportunities for Private Member's business, empowering Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) to act more independently and the management of confidence votes," it added.
Apart from parliamentary reforms, it said there was also a need for key institutions such as the judiciary, the Election Commission (EC) and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to be independent and free from the influence of the executive.
It added that a Key Appointment Commission to shortlist candidates for the relevant PSSC to further scrutinise would ensure that only independent and qualified candidates were being shortlisted for the PM to recommend to the King for appointment.
"The Attorney-General who should remain as an appointee of the government, should not hold the role of Public Prosecutor, a reform promised by both Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN)," it said.
It also called for an immediate transfer of prosecution power to Solicitor General as a temporary measure and a provisional moratorium on prosecution of opposition politicians on non-violence-related cases before the completion of the Attorney-General Chambers (AGC) reform to avoid perception of selective prosecution or immunity.
The group also noted that a free press was integral to a vibrant democracy as they shine lights on corruption, failures and shortcomings of the government and they should be unshackled from restrictive laws so that they can report without fear or favours.
The government, it said should also consider setting up an independent Civil Society Commission to regulate non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and fund those who fulfilled certain criteria so that they can do their work without constant concerns about sustainability and harassments from the authority.
"Under the new administration, the role of civil society should be acknowledged by allowing organisations that are deemed "political", when they are actually working to advance human and political rights, to be duly registered under a reformed Registrar of Societies that is not influenced by the executive.
"This would enable these NGOs to access fundings and apply for tax-exempt status from the Finance Ministry," it said.