FIRST off, it is good that the current government is continuing the agenda of the previous one. From bamboo to even local council elections, the government in power under prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin is moving ahead with what was formally the Pakatan Harapan manifesto.

That said, it would be good for this government to come forward and list what exactly is expected of its legislative agenda until the next general election scheduled in 2023 or perhaps sooner, judging by the house of cards that the government appears to be.

There was mention of amending the laws to allow harsher penalties for drink driving. At the same time, Women, Family and Society Development Minister Rina Harun has also mentioned a sexual harassment law in the works.

Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz has also mentioned the need to table a supplementary bill for the excess expenditure of the Prihatin stimulus packages, as well as another bill to protect businesses impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic from creditors.

Housing and Local Government minister Zuraida Kamaruddin mentioned that there will be a lot of laws to be amended to allow local council elections.

That, to me, reads as at most 10 legal bills to be passed by the Dewan Rakyat. So, what else is on your agenda?

The past Pakatan Harapan government managed to push through 16 legal bills during its running of the august house during its time in parliament, in less than two years.

Thus, if this government is serious about reforms as the last government was, it should be equally serious in continuing the tone of legal reforms to be passed by the Dewan Rakyat in the next few years.

Personally, I am wondering what happened to the amendments to the Poisons Act and Tobacco Control Act to regulate vaping, which was constantly mentioned as delayed even during last administration.

Has there been any mention of its future by the current health minister or even his two deputies?

Furthermore, this government has chosen to maintain the various select committees set up by the previous government, which is also in line with parliamentary reforms set by the previous speaker. 

This is a good thing, as it will provide additional checks and balances for legislation before it becomes law.

In fact, there should also be a select committee for healthcare, which could discuss the conditions of hospitals and even the progress of how to cope with the “new normal” in this recovery stage of the MCO.

Now that the speaker and deputy speaker has been changed, a government switch seemingly listed as Item 27 as a vote of no-confidence in the current prime minister with too much focus on one side of tussling on who will be the next prime minister – we need a parliament that just gets things moving forward and charting some form of legislative progress in order to keep the cause for reform going.

In fact, the more laws you pass, the more you bolster some image of legitimacy. 

And that is where the prime minister should put his focus on in the next few months, particularly with the budget speech in November.  

With revenue shortfall due to tax rebates and deductions during the MCO clearly to be expected, what other revenue stream is the government looking at?

Will the digital services tax be widened? Are we considering reintroducing the goods and services tax? Will we legalise vaping and apply import duties and a sin tax on it?

If there was ever a need to boost confidence in the economy, it is now – and the best way to do that is for this government to start looking seriously at what legal bills are in the dock and needs to be brought to parliament to become law.

Furthermore, let us not return to the marathon parliamentary seatings of the past, where parliament members suddenly had to read through three bills to pass in a single day until 3am the next morning. 

Such things irk the general public and scream procrastination beyond the normality of everyday Malaysians.

If it is unhealthy to cram for an exam the night before, it surely is detrimental for MPs to do the same for passing a law.

As such, the prime minister and his cabinet should start discussing what each and every ministry needs in order to push the Malaysian agenda ahead, and perhaps even define what the heck the current Malaysian agenda is.

This is where the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of economic affairs comes in. While Mustapa Mohamed has announced a delay in unveiling the 12th Malaysia Plan, there is no excuse for not being able to at least start having public forums for feedback from relevant stakeholders.

I believe the exhibition centres and conference centres, as well as hotels could use a leg up which you can provide by hosting such public feedback events around the country.

In short, if this government wants to prove that it is serious about establishing its legitimacy and serious about reforms, then it should walk the talk and act like it. – July 14, 2020.

* Hafidz Baharom reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.