WITH Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob promising a slew of reforms, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) urged Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to make sacrifices for the greater good of the rakyat.
“I urge Anwar to take up his future enhanced position as Opposition leader with a ministerial rank but reject salaries and perks that come with it.
“The PKR president must do free public service during the pandemic rather than profiting from it. This will teach a good lesson to others who are happily accepting ministerial ranks with salaries,” its deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan said in a statement.
Yesterday, Ismail Sabri announced that he would embark on implementing the seven reforms promised to strengthen the parliamentary democracy system and rejuvenate the economy.
Among the reforms announced were implementing anti-party hopping law, executing Undi18, limiting the prime minister’s tenure to two-terms and uplifting the Opposition leader’s post to a ministerial rank.
The Bera MP remarked that the reforms were in line with the Malay Rulers’ decree to create a stable and effective administration to combat COVID-19 and prop up the economy.
Earlier today, Anwar urged Ismail Sabri to allocate an additional RM45 bil under the Economic Turnaround Plan to help the public who are suffering from the pandemic triggered economic crisis.
“Pakatan Harapan’s priority is not only about parliamentary reforms but also fiscal reforms. We need more pro-people programmes to alleviate the public’s grievances.
“This includes automatic loan moratorium for the M40 and B40 groups and strengthening the independence of our judiciary,” he was reported saying.
Touching on the matter, Arutchelvan said that many Malaysians have shown exceptional quality during the time of crisis, by offering free service to those in need.
With that, he added that politicians should emulate the example shown by ordinary Malaysians and adopt equal commitment.
Accept reforms and move on
On the proposed reforms, the PSM leader advised Pakatan Harapan to accept it and move on, adding Ismail Sabri was offering them due to his vulnerability, not strength.
“It is said that when the Parliament is hung, the people can exert their demand and push for reforms.
“In the past, former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak repealed the Internal Security Act (ISA) and revoked the two previous Emergency proclamations after Barisan Nasional (BN) lost its two thirds majority in the Parliament,” Arutchelvan reminded.
He then urged Pakatan leaders to accelerate the reforms instead of putting caveats or trying to score brownie points which would only create stumbling blocks to the proposals made.
“These tactics will make Pakatan appear as if they are not interested in fundamental changes. Bear in mind that these institutional reforms will benefit everyone, including the new Government, unless they are not serious about it,” he remarked. – Sept 11, 2021
