[ENGLISH VERSION BELOW] Gabungan Pilihan Raya Bersih dan Adil (Bersih 2.0) mengalu-alukan rombakan yang telah dilakukan kepada jawatankuasa pilihan khas parlimen di mana jumlah ahli jawatankuasa tersebut telah ditambah kepada sembilan orang dan nisbah di antara wakil rakyat parti kerajaan dan parti pembangkang telah diperbetulkan kepada 5:4 yang mencerminkan kekuatan sebenar masing-masing dalam Parlimen.

Sembilan jawatankuasa pilihan khas yang ditubuhkan iaitu berkenaan kebebasan asasi dan hak perlembagaan, kewangan dan ekonomi, keselamatan, agensi-agensi di bawah Jabatan Perdana Menteri, pertanian dan perdagangan dalam negeri, pembangunan infrastruktur, pendidikan, hal ehwal wanita dan kanak-kanak dan pembangunan sosial, dan kesihatan, sains dan inovasi.

Kami juga menerima baik cadangan untuk menubuhkan satu jawatankuasa pilihan khas baru iaitu jawatankuasa pilihan khas hal Ehwal Antarabangsa dan kami harap ini akan merangkumi kawal selia Parlimen terhadap hak dan tanggungjawab Malaysia di bawah undang-undang antarabangsa yang ditandatangani oleh kerajaan, termasuk isu seperti perubahan iklim dan lain-lain.

Bersih 2.0 juga ingin mengesa pindaan peraturan-peraturan mesyuarat Dewan Rakyat supaya satu jawatankuasa tetap (standing committee), seperti Jawatankuasa Kira-Kira Wang Negara, berkenaan hal-hal dan isu pilihan raya ditubuhkan bagi mengawal selia Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR) yang bebas dan isu-isu penambahbaikan sistem pilihan raya yang tidak tertakluk kepada bidang kuasa mana-mana kementerian.

Jawatankuasa tetap pilihan raya amat penting untuk ditubuhkan terutamanya bagi membincangkan pelaksanaan pilihan raya dalam keadaan pandemik yang masih belum reda dan kita masih mempunyai lima pilihan raya (dua pilihan raya negeri dan tiga pilihan raya kecil) yang masih tertangguh.

Sebab mengapa perlunya satu jawatankuasa tetap pilihan raya dalam Parlimen adalah kerana sistem dan isu pilihan raya amat penting untuk sistem politik negara dan banyak isu-isu pembaharuan perlu dibincangkan dan diambil tindakan.

Jika ia ditubuhkan sebagai jawatankuasa pilihan khas sahaja, ia mudah dibubarkan dan dihilangkan, seperti yang berlaku kepada Jawatankuasa Pilihan Khas Hal Ehwal Pilihan Raya yang ditubuhkan oleh Dewan Rakyat pada 2019 di bawah pimpinan mantan Yang di-Pertua Dewan Rakyat Mohd Ariff Yusof setelah berlakunya Langkah Sheraton.

Kami juga ingin mengulangi semula cadangan kami pada tahun 2019 di mana jawatankuasa tetap pilihan raya perlu dipengerusikan oleh wakil rakyat daripada pembangkang serta dianggotai oleh wakil rakyat yang mempunyai komitmen kepada pilihan raya bersih dan adil serta ada kepakaran berkenaan urusan pilihan raya.

Mandat jawatankuasa tetap pilihan raya ini perlu merangkumi:

• Menubuhkan satu jawatankuasa pencalonan yang bebas untuk menamakan calon-calon kepada perdana menteri untuk dilantik oleh Yang di-Pertuan Agong bagi mengisi kekosongan jawatan ahli-ahli pesuruhjaya SPR
• Menerima, menyemak dan membahaskan laporan tahunan daripada SPR termasuklah laporan khusus selepas pilihan raya umum mahupun pilihan raya kecil, sebelum laporan tersebut dibentang di Dewan Rakyat dengan ulasan jawatankuasa pilihan khas
• Menerima, meneliti dan memeriksa laporan kewangan dan perbelanjaan SPR termasuklah selepas pilihan raya umum mahupun pilihan raya kecil
• Melaksanakan siasatan berkaitan sebarang isu berkenaan pilihan raya apabila perlu dengan kuasa untuk mensapina saksi-saksi bagi memberikan keterangan dan bukti-bukti bagi isu yang dibangkitkan. Siasatan ini juga perlu dilakukan secara terbuka kepada orang umum dan disiarkan secara langsung di televisyen ataupun di laman web Parlimen sebagaimana siaran perbahasan parlimen
• Menyemak sebarang undang-undang dan pindaan undang-undang berkenaan pilihan raya sebelum dibentangkan dan dibahaskan di dalam Parlimen melalui proses libat urus semua pemegang taruh, terutamanya parti-parti politik, pengundi dan masyarakat madani
• Memanggil SPR untuk menjawab soalan di Parlimen berkenaan pentadbiran SPR dan pengurusan proses-proses pilihan raya berbanding soalan tersebut dijawab oleh menteri bagi memastikan SPR bebas daripada eksekutif
• Memberi cadangan-cadangan bagi reformasi sistem, amalan dan undang-undang pilihan raya
• Memanggil pakar-pakar daripada dalam dan luar negara bagi mendapatkan pandangan ketiga terhadap sesuatu isu berkaitan sistem, pelaksanaan dan undang-undang pilihan raya

Kami juga menyeru kepada kerajaan supaya memberikan penjelasan yang lebih terperinci tentang terma sembilan jawatankuasa pilihan khas ini supaya orang ramai dimaklumkan kementerian mana dikawal selia oleh jawatankuasa yang mana dan samada terdapat kementerian yang terlepas daripada kawal selia mana-mana jawatankuasa pilihan khas.

Peraturan mesyuarat untuk jawatankuasa pilihan khas juga perlu dipinda dan sumber manusia dan kewangan yang mencukupi perlu diperuntukan supaya semua jawatankuasa pilihan khas dapat berfungsi secara efektif dan bermakna. Bersih 2.0 sedia membantu dan memberi kerjasama kepada kerajaan dan Parlimen berkaitan hal-hal pembaharuan ini.

Pilihan raya adalah tonggak kepada demokrasi dalam negara dan sangat mustahak dijalankan dengan telus, bersih dan adil bagi memastikan persaingan politik di Malaysia berlangsung secara sihat, matang, progresif dan demokratik. – Bersih 2.0

English version

Establish a parliamentary standing committee on election matters

The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) welcomes the reshuffle of the parliamentary select committees where the number of members in each committee has been increased to nine members and the ratio between government and opposition elected representatives has been adjusted to 5:4, which reflects the strengths of ruling and opposition parties in Parliament.

The nine select committees established are on fundamental liberty and constitutional rights, finance and economy, security, agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department, agriculture and domestic trade, infrastructure development, education, women and children’s affairs and social development, and health, science and innovation.

We also welcome the proposal to establish a new select committee on international affairs and we hope this will enhance parliamentary oversight on Malaysia’s rights and responsibilities under international law and treaties signed by the government, including issues such as climate change and others.

Bersih 2.0 calls for the amendment of the standing orders to establish a parliamentary standing committee on election matters, such as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), to provide oversight to an independent Election Commission and issues related to elections, which does not fall under the jurisdiction of any ministry.

The establishment of a standing committee on election matters is in particularly important now to deal with organising elections when the Covid pandemic is still raging and there are five elections (two state elections and three by-elections) that are still pending.

The reason why there is a need for a parliamentary standing committee on election matters is that the electoral system is integral to our political system and a lot of reforms need to be explored and implemented. If it is only established as a select committees, it can easily be dissolved and removed, as what happened to the Select Committee on Election Matters established by the Dewan Rakyat in 2019 under the leadership of former Speaker Mohd Ariff Yusof after the Sheraton Move.

We would also like to reiterate our suggestion in 2019 where the standing committee on election matters should be chaired by elected representatives from the opposition and comprised of elected representatives who are committed to clean and fair elections with expertise on election matters.

The mandate of the standing committee on elections must include:

• Establishing an independent nomination committee that will nominate candidates for Election Commission commissioners to the prime minister whenever there is a vacancy, which the prime minister will carry forward to be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
• Receiving, reviewing and debating the annual report from the Election Commission, including special reports after the general election or by-elections, before the report is presented in the Dewan Rakyat with the comments of the standing committee
• Scrutinising the Election Commission’s financial and expenditure reports including those for general elections and by-elections
• Conducting an inquiry on any matters related to elections and when necessary, having the power to subpoena witnesses to give testimony and provide evidence in relation to the issues. These investigations should also be made public and be televised or broadcast on parliamentary websites
• Reviewing any law and amendment to the election law before it is tabled and debated in Parliament by engaging with all stakeholders, especially political parties and civil society organisations
• Calling on the Election Commission to answer questions in Parliament regarding the administration of the commission and the management of election processes instead of those questions being answered by a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department to ensure that the Election Commission is truly independent of the executive
• Providing recommendations for electoral reform, practice and law
• Engaging with local or foreign experts for a third opinion on issues related to the electoral system, implementation and electoral law

We also call on the government to provide a more detailed explanation of the terms of reference of these nine select committees so that the public is informed about the scope of oversight of each select committee and to ensure that no ministry is exempted from the oversight of the select committees.

The standing orders in relation to the select committees also need to be amended, and adequate human and financial resources also need to be provided so that all select committees can function effectively and meaningfully. Bersih 2.0 is ready to assist and provide cooperation to the government and Parliament on these reforms.

Elections are one of the key pillars of democracy and it is very important to ensure elections are conducted in a transparent, clean and fair manner to ensure political competition in Malaysia is sustained in a healthy, mature, progressive and democratic environment. – Bersih 2.0

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama

1. Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
2. Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
3. Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
4. Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
5. Lawan rasuah dan kronisme

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