A group, known as the Blueprint for Effective Reform of the Electoral System Project (Projek Beres) has proposed 20 wide-ranging constitutional amendments to overhaul Malaysia’s electoral system.

 

Among them is a system for holding referendums, an ombudsman to handle election-related complaints, and a system for appointing a caretaker government.

 

The group’s spokesperson Syahredzan Johan said problems in the electoral system are already widely-known, and it was time to look for solutions. Projek Beres’ proposals is but one alternative.

 

“Why not reflect our aspirations as a maturing society? We want something better. In order for something better to happen, we think that it must involve a review of the federal constitution and amendments to the federal constitution.

 

“We are willing to engage with anyone who is willing to work with us, from both sides of the political divide and the Election Commission,” he told a seminar in Petaling Jaya today.

 

Syahredzan, a constitutional lawyer, described Projek Beres as a reform movement by a group of Malaysians, many of whom are abroad and are not lawyers.

 

He added that the group is also willing to discuss its proposals and make changes.

 

However, the full text of the document is still being ‘fine-tuned’ and only its executive summary is available.

 

The proposed amendments include:

  • Each state will be allocated a number of parliamentary seats that is proportional to its population, except for Sabah and Sarawak, which together should have a-third of parliamentary seats in the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement. There are a total of 230 seats.

 

  • Positions in the senate to be appointed by the Agong, are to be increased from 40 to 42, while senators representing the Federal Territories are reduced from four to two.

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  • Reintroduce local government elections.

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  • New criteria on how redelineation exercises are conducted, including minimising discrepancies in apportionment, and avoid dividing communities with constituency boundaries.

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  • A new Boundary Commission to carry out the redelineation exercise, with the power to change the number of constituencies. Unlike the status quo, Parliament will have no power to amend or reject its decisions.

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  • The Election Commission (EC) will no longer be involved in redelineation, but its new role is to register and regulate political parties. The latter role is currently undertaken by the Registrar of Societies, which is under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

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  • Introduce an Election Ombudsman Office to investigate and address complaints regarding the EC and Boundaries Commission. It can order corrective action to be made, or the removal of a member of a caretaker government.

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  • Introduce a system for a caretaker that is similar to that of Pakistan, where an interim prime minister is appointed by the Agong with concurrence of both the outgoing prime minister and opposition leader. The caretaker government will be bound to a code of conduct and its members should not be involved in the election.

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  • Introduce a system for holding referendums, which can be initiated by groups of at least 10 percent of registered voters, when making certain constitutional amendments, and when putting preventive security laws into effect for a period of over a year.

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  • EC, Boundaries Commission, and Ombudsman Office members are to be appointed by the Agong, in consultation with the Conference of Rulers, with concurrence of the opposition leader. Prior to that, the suitability of prospective members will also be deliberated upon in a public hearing before a Federal Court judge. Holding office in a political party will be a criteria for disqualification.