Date : 4 September
Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek SAMA) calls for federal and state laws to guarantee equitable acess to Constituency Development Fund (CDF) for all elected representatives regardless of party affiliations for Parliament and all 13 State Assemblies. This should be part of a cross-party peace deal to strengthen multiparty democracy.
Projek SAMA criticizes any attempt by any Government to use CDF to control Opposition parties or to entice defection of individual Opposition lawmakers, which is an assault to multiparty democracy.
Projek SAMA expresses grave concern over the news that a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was proposed and send by Madani Government to the Opposition coalition laying out seven terms and conditions for allocating CDF for Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs).
Projek SAMA rejects the misleading comparison of this draft MOU and the MOU on Transformation and Political Stability (1st MOU) signed in Sept 2021 between the then Keluarga Malaysia Government with the then Official Opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH).
Then, the Keluarga Malaysia Government had a fragile majority and needed a Confidence and Supply Agreement (CSA), what the 1st MOU essentially was.
In stark contrast, the Madani Government now has a two-third majority to govern. To weaponize the allocation of CDF – which comes from all taxpayers including Opposition supporters – to blackmail the Opposition MPs into backing the government, if the report is true, is hollowing multiparty democracy, and go against the principles of ‘trust’, ‘respect’ and ‘care and compassion’ of Madani, and not at all an ‘innovation’ Malaysia needs.
For the record, six Bersatu MPs had changed their allegiance to back the Madani government in exchange for CDF. This enticing was a slap to the anti-hopping law (AHL) which PH and Barisan Nasional (BN) pushed hard and was promised and implemented as the most important institutional reform of the 1st MOU. Ironically, access to CDF was also a key demand in this MOU demanded by PH, which has long suffered the undemocratic denial of CDF, a legacy of BN’s one-party state till 2018.
We appreciate the Madani Government’s concern to promote political stability and move the country away from 3R (race, religion and royalty). But this needs to be done by promoting healthy and professional competition on policy, competence and integrity, not by suppressing competition.
We call upon the Madani Government and the Perikatan Nasional (PN) to negotiate a “Pact for Political Stability and Accountability” which includes but goes beyond CDF to promote policy competition and moves the country away from 3R politics:
a. legislation for equal CDF
b. Fixed Term Parliament Act
c. parliamentary reform to enhance the roles of Opposition MPs and Government Backbenchers
d. Recognition of and resources for the Opposition’s Shadow Cabinet
e. Inter-governmental Committee 2.0 (IGC 2.0) which includes the Federal Government and all 13 state governments to negotiate decentralisation and local democracy
f. 10-year Tenure-limit for PM
g. A Royal Commission of Inquiry into constituency delimitation and electoral system change.
In the absence of ideas, identity politic thrives. Without policy competition, the country will inevitably be stuck with 3R politics.
On equal CDF, Projek SAMA commends Perak and Kelantan for implementing it since December 2020 and November 2023 respectively. We call upon the governments of the two states to legislate their good practice, especially if the Federal Government fails or refuses to take the lead.
Issued by:-
Projek SAMA
