We want reforms, not Sheraton Move 2.0, NGOs tell PN

Several NGOs told Perikatan Nasional they have no interest in backing attempts to form a “backdoor government” like what happened in 2020, saying the move created political instability.

They said this in response to parliamentary opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin, who said yesterday that many are upset with the government and that several NGOs, including Bersih, have met with the opposition on the matter.

“We reject any attempts to form a ‘backdoor government’ in the middle of a parliamentary term, like what happened after the Sheraton Move, which created political instability at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Besides, it’s not clear whether the next government would give full commitment to implementing institutional reforms, or the administration could be too fragile to enact any meaningful changes.

“What we want now is to see institutional reforms being implemented to ensure a level playing field for all parties as we gear up for the 16th general election,” the NGOs said in a joint statement.

The signatories of the statement were Bersih, C4 Center, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), Projek Sama, Pusat Komas, and Transparency International Malaysia.

Yesterday, Hamzah said the “Turun Rally” tomorrow could attract up to a million participants, as many are upset with the government.

The Larut MP claimed a similar sentiment was shared by a number of civil society organisations (CSOs) and NGOs that approached the opposition recently.

“Several CSOs in this country had come to see us, including Bersih, C4 Center, Ideas, Transparency International, Projek Sama, and several other NGOs.

“They are unhappy, and when they are not happy, then there is a motivation to ‘turun’ (join) the rally this Saturday.

“Many will be joining the rally, so do not be mad at us, the rakyat wants to protest because so many problems have been accumulating,” he added.

Reforms regardless of affiliation

Clarifying the matter, the NGOs acknowledged that they were invited to meet Hamzah and several other opposition leaders for a meeting at his office on July 1.

However, they stressed that the meeting was about making their case on the importance of having institutional reforms and had presented their ideas to be taken up by PN, especially the opposition leader.

In essence, the NGOs said they wanted MPs, regardless of their political affiliations, to press for institutional reforms.

“We need comprehensive institutional reforms so that Malaysians can move forward with better political and justice systems.

“These reforms would serve as a proper check and balance system to ensure the authorities would not abuse their powers for the sake of their personal and political interests.

“And that could only happen if everyone, the government and opposition alike, support these measures,” they added.

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