PARTIES should not be able to force MPs to vote according to the party line on all bills, electoral watchdog Bersih said today.

Chairman Thomas Fann said giving such a power to parties would only remove all autonomy of parliamentarians in voting, following an agreement signed by coalitions in the unity government which stipulated that all parties must ensure their lawmakers support Anwar Ibrahim and his administration in any confidence motion or bill in the Dewan Rakyat.

This is one of the five conditions outlined in the agreement signed by the party leaders involved.

Following which, as per the agreement, any MP who votes against Anwar’s leadership or bills tabled by the government will have to vacate his or her seat by default.

Fann said this should not be the case.

He added that parties can rein in their MPs to strictly toe the line on confidence and supply matters only.

He said the parliamentarians’ voting freedom must be preserved, adding that government’s defeats in major legal and even constitutional bills must not be seen as an expression of no-confidence to the government.

“Otherwise, parties can force their will on their parliamentarians on the pretext of avoiding a no-confidence vote against the government,” he said.

However, Fann said Bersih was pleased to learn that under the agreement every ministerial portfolio would be scrutinised by a parliamentary special select committee (PSSC).

He said the government must make a clear commitment to have one PSSC for one ministerial portfolio and must not repeat the flawed practice of having one PSSC for multiple ministries.

He also said Bersih was ready to meet with Anwar, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) Azalina Othman Said and opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin to discuss strengthening of multiparty democracy and parliament.

Meanwhile, Bersih also suggested introducing several practices, such as:

1. Committee membership is allocated across coalitions parties based on the number of private MPs (excluding the cabinet, speaker and deputy speaker)

2. Committee membership should be allocated taking into account the MPs’ interest and expertise, not arbitrarily assigned by party leaders

3. Committee chairman should be allocated based on the proportion of private MPs from each party.

4. The chair and vice chair must come from opposing sides of the political divide.

5. Committee chairs and vice chairs should be reasonably paid with additional allowances as committees are expected to operate all year long, even when parliament is in recess.

The Anwar-led Pakatan Harapan coalition has signed an agreement with Barisan Nasional (BN), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), and Warisan to ensure that he retains the majority support in the government. – December 18, 2022.