KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 12): Projek Sama, backed by 43 civil society organisations and 25 individuals, has called for the 15th Parliament to serve its full term until Dec 18, 2027, unless the government loses its majority.
The statement, endorsed by individuals from all walks of life, said the call to serve the full term of Parliament was to realise as many as possible reforms necessary for Malaysia to deepen democracy and improve good governance.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was also urged to hold a cross-party leaders’ summit involving all parties represented in Parliament.
It said the reforms should be jointly supported and credited to all parties and members of Parliament. Projek Sama said the summit could establish a common reform agenda for the remainder of the 15th Parliament and encouraged parties hoping to form the next federal government to support the reforms, as they would benefit any future administration.
The statement outlined 10 reforms that it wants to see implemented.
It includes the constitutional amendment to introduce the separation of the Attorney General and Public Prosecutor powers, a constitutional amendment to impose a 10-year tenure limit for prime ministers, an Ombudsman Act to establish an independent public office that investigates citizen complaints against government agencies, and the Freedom of Information Act so Malaysians have access to their records held by the government.
In addition, they called for the People’s Justice Party (PKR) and the Democratic Action Party (DAP) to resolve their upcoming conference on Aug 15 to 16 to push through reforms that are necessary to treat all opposition parties fairly, to avoid the restoration of a pre-2018 one-party dominance system.
All 13 states should introduce laws to provide fair and mandatory constituency development funds (CDFs) to all state assemblypersons (ADUNs), regardless of party affiliation, with greater transparency and accountability.
The current First-Past-the-Post electoral system should also be improved at the state level by introducing statewide ADUN seats based on proportional representation. These seats would be allocated according to each party or coalition’s share of the votes, with candidates announced in advance. The system should also improve representation of women, youth, Indigenous communities and other under-represented groups.
The proposed statewide ADUNs would focus on specific issues and groups rather than geographical constituencies, helping to strengthen lawmaking, policymaking, budgeting and government oversight through state legislative committees.
The coalition urged federal and state governments to announce early election dates in advance if they plan to dissolve their legislatures early. This would give voters, authorities, political parties and businesses more time to prepare.
The statement was endorsed by civil society organisations and individuals from various backgrounds.
They include former politicians, lawyers, activists, academics, journalists and human rights advocates. Among them are groups such as the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih), Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), G25 Malaysia, Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4), All Women’s Action Society (Awam) and Tenaganita, as well as individuals including former Klang member of Parliament Charles Santiago, Persatuan Martabat Untuk Semua Petaling Jaya advisor Maria Chin Abdullah, political scientist professor Wong Chin Huat, and Aliran executive committee member professor Zaharom Nain.