THE Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) “staunchly rejects” the push by certain quarters in UMNO to have an early 15th General Election (GE15) in an apparent bid to save “kleptocrats” from facing justice in court.
The electoral reform group said it was “alarmed” that the tabling of Budget 2023 had been brought forward by three weeks to Oct 7, fuelling speculation that Parliament would be “irresponsibly dissolved” the very next day to “fish votes” with “generous but unguaranteed offers in an undebated Budget”.
“Bersih condemns those who unashamedly instructed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to seek a royal pardon for former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and early dissolution of Parliament,” its steering committee added in a statement today.
“They have made clear that they want a new Government that seeks pardon for Najib, pressures judges and perhaps even withdraws charges in other corruption cases.”
If supporters of “kleptocrats” get their way, Bersih warned, instances of dua darjat or double standards would be “institutionalised” as politicians would be spared from any legal consequences for breaking laws and robbing the people “so long as they can win elections”.
“Institutionalised protection for kleptocrats would destroy not just the rule of law and society but also the economy as honest businesses and investments would leave the country in droves, sinking the country into catastrophe,” Bersih added.
Bersih urged Ismail to stand firm on his promise not to interfere in the judiciary by rejecting the call for an early GE15, pointing out that his mandate comes from Parliament, not UMNO.
The Government has since denied that its move to bring forward the tabling of Budget 2023 has anything to do with GE15, noting that budget sessions usually start in September.
“Key reforms”
As part of a list of key reforms proposed by the group, Bersih proposed that the office of the Public Prosecutor be separated from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to eliminate selective prosecution and impunity by an attorney-general (AG), who is a political appointee and whose decision may be influenced by political considerations.
“If after GE15, the AG withdraws all charges against Najib in his remaining four cases, nothing can be done by any judges and Najib would walk away as a free man if he receives a royal pardon for his SRC International case,” Bersihwarned.
Other reforms it proposed include the introduction of a political finance law that would provide sufficient public funding to political parties to reduce their dependence on slush funds, and the appointment of standing select committees to scrutinise every ministry.
Besides that, Bersih recommended reforming absentee voting for out-of-region and overseas voters to raise turnout rates during elections.
“As all these reforms would take months to be ready, if all stakeholders are given ample time to offer their inputs, the 14th Parliament should last until its term is scheduled to end on July 15, 2023,” Bersih noted.
“This would start a new constitutional convention of a ‘fixed-term Parliament’.”
With such a convention in place, every Parliament should last for its entire term and early dissolution only sought in two circumstances – when the Government loses the confidence of Parliament and when two-thirds of parliamentarians resolve to seek early dissolution.
“With a ‘fixed term parliament’, election dates would be largely fixed. This would contribute to political stability by discouraging political adventurism and short-term calculations,” Bersih said.
“It also allows ordinary people, especially police personnel, teachers and other civil servants involved in electoral administration, as well as journalists, to plan their family holidays or even wedding receptions,” it added.
Meanwhile, former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin reminded Ismail to negotiate with Perikatan Nasional (PN) first before setting a date for GE15 as this was promised to the coalition – now a staunch enemy of UMNO-Barisan Nasional (BN).
“But I don’t know if he still remembers the agreement,” Muhyiddin, the PN chairperson, reportedly quipped during his keynote address at the PN convention today. “In any case, we are ready to face elections at any time. – Aug 27, 2022
Main photo credit: Reuters
