Political financing, 10-year PM's tenure should be next on reform list, say experts
Dewan Rakyat passed anti-hopping law on July 28. - Bernama pic
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SHAH ALAM - What next after anti-hopping laws were passed at the Dewan Rakyat?
AN MP and experts say it should be limiting the prime minister's tenure to 10 years and to implement political funding laws before parliament is dissolved for 15th General Election (GE15).
However, PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil said there is no draft on the bills yet as the focus has been on the anti-hopping laws.
“There is no draft on limiting the PM's 10 years tenure since the focus has been on the anti-hopping law, now that the bill has been passed, it will be the next focus,” he told Sinar Daily.
He added that the need to implement the law before GE15 was because the items in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) have been agreed upon.
“The possibility for the remaining bills to be passed before GE15 is uncertain as it depends on how prepared they are to bring the bills to Parliament,” he said.
Weighing on the same issue, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) Prof Azizuddin Sani said it is important for all laws to be gazetted before the GE15.
The electorate demands these laws to be implemented.
“We do not want any element of graft and abuse of power anymore in Malaysian politics," he said referring to political financing laws.
“The most important thing is that we want a stable and democratic government in Malaysia,” he added.
Meanwhile, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) senior executive, democracy and governance Aira Azhari said the law is needed to reduce the centralisation of power in the prime minister's office.
The Dewan Rakyat has unanimously passed the anti-hopping bill through a bloc vote on July 28 with a total of 209 MPs voting in favour of the bill while eleven MPs were absent.
The tabling of the anti-hopping bill is one of the items in the MoU between Ismail Sabri and Pakatan Harapan in which the MPs will lose their seats if they choose to jump to another party.
However, exceptions will be provided for MPs who are sacked by their party or if their party is dissolved or deregistered.
