Doubt grows over Najib's PSC as BN rushs to throw out obstacles

Amid criticism that the parliamentary select committee on electoral reforms was another delaying tactic, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz said the Cabinet will table a motion to establish it when the August House convenes on October 3.

“We want to get things moving so that when Parliament starts its next meeting on Oct 3, it can be the first order of the day and we can table a motion on the setting up of the committee,” Star reported him as saying.

"The details of the committee, including its terms of reference, will be discussed by the Cabinet. We will inform the Speaker who will then do the needful to start the ball rolling."

Hollow talk, excuses already being offered

The PSC was suggested by Prime Minister Najib Razak on Monday, and already, it has been criticised as another white-wash for the BN to appease an angry public. Many believe the BN would be unwilling to push for real changes when the crunch came. The Malaysian voting system is notorious for its widespread corruption, and electoral fraud such as vote-buying and duplication of names in the electoral rolls are rampant.

“The select committee will draft a report on electoral issues followed by discussions with the Election Commission to reach some conclusions. The conclusions will be then sent to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for review before being approved by the Cabinet, and finally tabled in Parliament to be made into law,” Nazri was also reported as saying in the Sin Chew Daily.

On July 9, despite an unprecedented police crackdown, tens of thousands took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur to support polls watchdog Bersih’s rally for free and fair elections. Despite Najib's insistence the rally was only by a small group of people, he has been forced by growing public unhappiness to offer an olive branch.

However, Bersih leaders and the Pakatan Rakyat coalition led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim are wary of Najib's sincerity. Many believe the PSC was just a delaying tactic while Najib tries to regain the public's confidence. Already, senior BN leaders includy deputy Speaker Wan Junaidi have warned that it could take a year before the PSC could come to any agreement on the reforms to be made.

However, Bersih has insisted there was no reason why the BN could not immediately implement the 8 reforms it has recommended to the government, which includes the use of indelible ink, clean up of the electoral rolls and automatic voter registration. It has set a March 2012 deadline for the first PSC report to be completed with all the initial reforms in place. The second report which contains longer-term reforms can continue after that, Bersih told a press conference on Tuesday.

Nazri pointed out that when to hold GE-13 was up to the prime minister, again reinforcing the belief that the PSC was another public relations sham by Najib.

“The government must hold the general elections before March 2013, if the election falls during 2013, this act can of course come in handy, but I do not know when the general election is, only the Prime Minister knows,” said Nazri, who is also the Padang Rengas MP.

He said although Bersih chief Ambiga Sreenevasan had requested for NGOs to be included in the PSC, the committee will only include MPs.

"The statements that have come out so far from the BN side since the announcement of the PSC does indicate that we were right to be suspicious about it. How many BN MPs and how many Pakatan MPs will be invited to form the PSC will be the other signal," Tian Chua, PKR vice president, told Malaysia Chronicle.

- Malaysia Chronicle