KUCHING: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s proposals for political reforms, including limiting the premiership tenure to two terms and ban party hopping, are steps in the right direction to effectively curtail corrupt political practices.
Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said such moves indicated Muhyiddin’s sincerity and commitment to bring about improvements in the Malaysian political scene.
He noted that for so long, these issues had been identified as root causes for corruption in the country yet no political leader, before this, had made any attempt to do something about it.
“Ten years is already a long time for a person to rule a country. It will be dangerous to allow a person to rule longer than that as it will promote kleptocracy.
“What Muhyiddin proposed is a testament of his leadership and seriousness to eradicate corruption,” he said on Saturday (Aug 14).
On proposals for parliamentary reforms, the Santubong MP said he fully supported the formation of a bipartisan collaboration in Parliament to resolve issues concerning Covid-19 and to assist with the nation’s recovery plan.
“This is indeed a step towards a healthier and more mature political landscape. Opposition parties should not be viewed as the enemy. Instead, we should engage them so that they too can contribute.
“As such, I am in favour that all MPs should receive the same annual allocation, regardless of where they stand, politically. I also support the proposal that an opposition leader should be accorded with facilities and perks of a senior minister,” he said.
Wan Junaidi, who is a former Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker, also said that he fully supported the suggestions to equally divide the chairmanship of Parliamentary Select Committees between the government and opposition.
“Such a move could further enhance the check and balance system, which will lead to efforts towards parliamentary reforms,” he said.
He added that he also agrees to an amendment of the law to speed up the process to allow 18-year-old citizens to vote.
“The proposals for reforms offered by Muhyiddin are indeed historical and momentous.
“We have seen Barisan Nasional (BN) reformation agendas, we have seen Pakatan Harapan (PH) reformation proposal and now from Perikatan Nasional (PN).
“If there is enough support to the proposal, a true structural reform has come to Malaysia, which has never been attempted before.
“For now, we should put all of our differences aside and focus on how to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic. There is no time for self-serving politicking. I think all Malaysians should support the prime minister and PN government in this,” said Wan Junaidi.
