The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) congratulates Anwar Ibrahim on his appointment as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia, and we welcome the formation of a mixed coalition government led by Pakatan Harapan, with the support of Barisan Nasional and the Borneo blocs.
This brought to an end five days of political impasse due to a hung parliament after the general election.
The hung parliament signified the maturing of Malaysian democracy where politics is no longer dominated by a single or two coalitions but voters can choose between several options, and post-election coalitions can be formed peacefully and successfully. Hopefully from now on, parties will be forced to moderate themselves during campaigning as they may have to be partners after elections.
Bersih applauds Anwar’s announcement that the first agenda when Parliament convenes on 19 December is the tabling of a vote of confidence to prove that he commands the majority support of the House of Representatives to be the PM. We believe he will have secured the support of his coalition’s partners by then.
The coalition agreements between the parties – on policy goals they have agreed on and on the mechanisms on new and undecided issues – should be announced, signed publicly and deposited in Parliament the way former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for political stability and transformation with PH in 2021.
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We have long called for a confirmatory vote of confidence to be adopted as part of parliamentary convention to prove support for a PM as this would remove any doubt as to the legitimacy and strength of a government and reaffirm the judgement of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as laid out in Article 43(2)(a). The formation of government is too important to be conducted behind closed doors with statutory declarations that are opaque to the people.
Anwar should also remember his promise to keep his administration slim. The political need to appoint representatives from various parties should be addressed by setting up the same number or more of parliamentary committees as the number of ministries, with commensurate salaries but no perks for the chairs and deputy chairs.
The election is over and a government has been formed. Bersih calls on all parties especially the Perikatan Nasional coalition to accept the outcome of the general election and to play their role as the loyal opposition to the new government. We need an opposition that can effectively scrutinise Anwar’s government. For that to happen, the new PH-led government has to empower Parliament and provide adequate resources for special select committees and the formation of a shadow cabinet.
Bersih also congratulates the almost 15.5 million or 74% of eligible voters who participated in the general election despite rain and flooding in some areas. The images of voters wading in knee-high flood water to cast their votes in Baram, Sarawak and the global mobilisation of Malaysians all over the world to bring home postal ballots demonstrated the determination and commitment of Malaysians to our democracy.
Let this general election be remembered as the election where we transited to a multi-party democracy where elections are not do-or-die battles that cause deep divisions in our society. It is time to heal and for all parties to play our part to ensure that the people are the true winners of this election. – Bersih
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
