ON September 13, 2021, the government and Pakatan Harapan inked an MOU on bipartisan cooperation. The two parties agreed to work on the following:

1. Strengthening the Covid 19 plan;

2. Administrative transformation (to be implemented no later than the first meeting of the fifth parliament term in 2022) including to:
• Pass an anti-party hopping bill
• Enforce Undi18
• Amend the constitution to limit the prime minister’s term to 10 years
• Set aside RM45 billion to boost the healthcare system, extend financial aid to the people and support continuity of businesses
• Lend RM10 billion cash assistance to 11 million recipients in the second half of 2021 
• Model the National Recovery Council to comprise public and private sector experts

3. Parliamentary reform;

4. Judicial independence; 

5. MA63 agreement; and

6. Establishment of a steering committee to drive the above.

As part of the agreement, the government will not dissolve parliament before July 31.

In return, the PH coalition would either support or abstain during the vote to pass supply bills and bills construed as confidence votes on condition that PH co-drafts the budget and related bills.

Where are we now in terms of achieving those items?

Unless The Temporary Measures for Government Financing [Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19)] (Amendment) Act 2021 passed in October 2021 encompassed the Covid-19 plan, the government has not revealed how it plans to strengthen the Covid 19 plan.

The anti-party hopping bill is still being discussed and has been referred to select committee for evaluation.

Undi18 and automatic voter registration was gazetted on December 1, 2021 and enforced the same month. 

A bill to limit the tenure of a prime minister to 10 years was supposed to be tabled in parliament in February. Unfortunately, it didn’t see the lights of the day. It was mentioned that it would be tabled at a special parliament session in April. The special session came and went without any mention of the bill.

The Temporary Measures for Government Financing [Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19)] (Amendment) Act 2021 to allow the government to raise the ceiling cap for the Covid-19 Fund from RM65 billion to RM110 billion was tabled in October 2021. The sum included proposed additional expenditure of RM45 billion of which RM10 billion of cash assistance would be channeled to 11 million recipients.

The government restructured the National Recovery Council before the signing of the MOU. Unless changes were unannounced, it is assumed that the members of the NRC remain the same as those appointed prior to the signing of the MOU.

In early October 2021, the government announced equal allocations to for government and opposition MPs over the next four months and that the leader of the opposition, as a prime minister-in-waiting is entitled to the same government intelligence information as the PM. The Parliamentary Services Act, repealed in 2002, is to be reintroduced to allow parliament to make its own staff appointments and enjoy a guaranteed budget. This is a short-term solution as it is unclear whether the MPs will be given equal allocations in the next budget.  

No KPI was announced as to how the government plans to address judicial independence.

The Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2021 related to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) was passed and approved on December 2021.

It was agreed that the steering committee members would be made up of 10 people – five from the administration and five from the opposition. Again, whether this is the case now has not been revealed to the public.

Has the government delivered on the MOU?

From the above, it appears that both sides are either foot-dragging on the range of issues or one side is leading the other on with empty promises which it knows can never be fulfilled within the agreed timeframe.

It appears that one side wants an early general election while the other side is hoping to extend the deadline to buy more time to regroup and and formulate its election strategies three successive defeats in state elections.

The public should judge whether the MOU is really about political stability or for the survival of desperate politicians. – April 21, 2022.

* FLK 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.