Opposition must change, serve as check and balance for the govt, says researcher

KUALA LUMPUR - The opposition must add value to the debate in Dewan Rakyat by raising policy issues in a more structured manner that will lead to problem solving rather than repeating political issues.

Merdeka Centre Senior Researcher Fakrurrazi Rashid said the opposition's debate could not be justified by repeatedly challenging the legitimacy of the support for the prime minister and simply criticising the government.

"The opposition’s duty is not only to criticise the government and head into Parliament to motion a vote of confidence for the prime minister. Today, what I see is a debate between the government and the opposition without any structural debate.

"There are no concrete policies on how we are going to address the issue of jobs, the gig economy, the aspirations of the youth with families who face economic problems, and such.

"The debate was only on the withdrawal of the Employees’ Provident Funds (EPF). The government and the opposition must debate structural matters. Debate for better policies, and these policies should be geared towards the community," he said in the Awani Agenda programme.

Fakrurrazi said the understanding of the opposition's role today could not be compared to the past understanding.

He said the opposition’s duty as an effective check and balance for the government must be applied to form a mature democracy in the nation.

"If we look at the definition of opposition in the context of authoritative opposition, in the 1960s and 70s we saw the opposition as the enemy of the government. This must change, as the opposition is the government-in-waiting should there be a change of power in the elections," he said. - Awani