TRANSPARENCY International Malaysia (TI-M) is appalled by the state of politics in Malaysia currently. After months of lockdowns and burgeoning numbers of both daily infections and deaths, due to mishandling of the crisis, Parliament was once more stalled immediately after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong called out the de facto law minister for misleading the Dewan Rakyat and country.

After several rounds of announcements from lawmakers, the rakyat have been surprised with allegations of Members of Parliament (MPs) being offered deals to change alliances and jump parties in order to prevent the prime minister from losing majority in Parliament.

These allegations have further intensified after last night when PM Muhyiddin Yassin took to national broadcast to make open offers to all political parties and lawmakers to change their stance and back him as PM in exchange for reforms, which should have already been implemented several years ago, before the Pakatan Harapan government (of which he was a member) made several U-turns and refused to table in Parliament, despite their manifesto.

The statement issued from the PMO further highlighted the fact that the PM would call for parliamentary seating if the terms he had offered earlier in the statement were accepted by his peers. This comes hot on the heels of news reports that the Agong has once more issued a stern warning that the convening of Parliament should not be delayed again. We, like all Malaysians, are concerned and curious if the tone from the top speaks of instability and abuse of process.

TI-M believes that democratic institutions should be respected and all laws, emergency or not, should be debated in Parliament by all democratically elected representatives. Furthermore, the PM’s majority should be tested in Parliament, not behind closed doors meetings, and if the PM has lost the confidence of the simple majority in Parliament, the mandate should be returned to the people, in line with the federal constitution [Article 43 (4)].

However, we understand these are unprecedented times and we are all under the cloud of a deadly pandemic, which has been exacerbated by poor management, abuse of power and politicking. As such, in the wake of the failures of our leaders, and the growing likelihood of a unity or caretaker government in the near future, the rakyat and civil societies should form a collective campaign to bargain for better and long-term reforms from our leaders, which will put the power in the hands of the rakyat, rather than allow politicians to utilise this opportunity to advance their careers.

At present the government is in a position for us to push for the reforms we voted for three years ago, and also begged for in the past year, amid losses of income and loved ones. We must focus on parliamentary democracy, stronger institutions, independence of the judiciary from the executive, transparency, term limits and separation of powers.

TI-M is gravely concerned about the future of this country and reminds the rakyat that at this juncture, the popular saying “Rakyat Jaga Rakyat” ought to be taken seriously in a collective effort to guarantee our survival and fight the pandemic of corruption that plagues our beloved nation. – August 15, 2021.

* Press statement by Transparency International Malaysia.

* 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.