Should Pakatan Rakyat sit in Putrajaya, the prime minister should no longer be the one to decide the usually ‘secretive' general elections date, suggested a PAS leader.

PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub convinced the 1,500 delegates at the first Pakatan convention in Shah Alam today that the five-year-period should be fixed instead of leaving the decision to just one person.

"The direction of this country does not lie in one person's hand... he should not be the one who makes the decision," said the Kubang Kerian MP.

Under the current electoral laws, snap polls can be decided by the head of the federal or state governments with the prior approval of the king, state rulers or governors.

He also wanted the "corrupt" Election Commission to be accountable to Parliament with the board members appointed by a bi-partisan special committee set up by the august House.

" pas chinese liaison rep 280607 salahuddin ayub As for the prime minister who represents the executive, he could only suggest the designation of the nominated board members. Agreed?" asked Salahuddin ( left ) to the approval of the crowd.

The PAS leader also called for reform of the heavily-criticised Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), which too, needs to come under parliamentary supervision.

"Not only the candidates for the board of members have to go through a tough interview, their appointments should also be endorsed by the king and the prime minister need only propose these names for the various positions," added Salahuddin.

Defends Article 153

At the same time, he defended Article 153 in the Federal Constitution on preserving Malay rights, which now, he argued, has been widely abused by the Malay-based ruling party Umno.

"But the non-bumiputera should not be scared of this Article because we will only prioritise the needy ones when it comes to this," he said.

He also proposed that the Official Secrets Act be replaced with the Freedom of Information Act that would assure full freedom to the media and bloggers.

Among others, Salahuddin also proposed the formation of a royal commission to investigate the issues surrounding oil royalty for the affected states.

He also suggested that government arms such as Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara), Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) and Tabung Haji come under one ministry.

Meanwhile, DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke promised to look after the scholarship needs of those who need it most.

NONE Loke ( right ), who is also Rasah parliamentarian, grabbed the crowd's attention when he said the party would protect the bumiputera when it comes to education.

"I would not be envious when a poor Malay boy gets a scholarship but I would be angry if a rich Malay boy, especially when he is the son of an Umno division chief or the son of a class A contractor is awarded one," he said.

Today's Pakatan convention marks the first time the component parties of PAS, DAP and PKR forged a common platform after the landmark general elections of March last year.

1ST PAKATAN CONVENTION

Pakatan pledges sweeping reforms

Policy in place, next stop Putrajaya l VIDEO l 17 mins

Multiracialism reigns in Pakatan confab

Zaid: CPF a project of national liberation l VIDEO l 6 mins

A new consensus for Malaysia

Break out of 'racial cocoon', opposition told

Coalition's show of unity despite differences l VIDEO l 8 mins

DAP: We'll win over PAS on local council polls l VIDEO l 8 mins

PAS wants fixed polls, DAP vows to protect scholarship needs

'Excellent policies, now walk the talk'