Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said that the parliamentary select committee (PSC) on electoral reform will look into drafting an election law to ensure a free, fair and democratic process for the next general election.
“The select committee will draft a report on electoral issues followed by discussions with the Election Commission (EC) 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,” Sin Chew Daily quoted Nazri as saying.
Nazri also said that, although enactment of legislation is a long process, the government hopes to implement it before the next general election.
“The government must call for a general election before March 2013. If the general election falls in 2013, the new law will be used, but I don't know when the next general election will be called. Only the prime minister knows.”
The cabinet will discuss the formation of the committee today, said Nazri, including the term of reference, number of members and BN candidates who will be in it.
He expects that it will be headed by Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia, while the opposition representatives in the committee will be decided by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
Nazri revealed that the cabinet, at its weekly meeting last Wednesday, had discussed Pakatan Rakyat's demand for an emergency parliamentary sitting over the allegation of permanent residents being given citizenship and voting rights.
The decision to form a parliamentary select committee was the outcome of the meeting, he said.
The announcement by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on Monday to form the committee has received the thumbs-up from both the opposition and civil society, including electoral reform coalition Bersih 2.0.
However, Pakatan has demanded that the committee should be chaired by an opposition MP, and urged Najib to give a guarantee that a general election will not be called until after the select committee finishes its work and the reforms it proposes are in place. - Malaysiakini
“The select committee will draft a report on electoral issues followed by discussions with the Election Commission (EC) 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,” Sin Chew Daily quoted Nazri as saying.
Nazri also said that, although enactment of legislation is a long process, the government hopes to implement it before the next general election.
“The government must call for a general election before March 2013. If the general election falls in 2013, the new law will be used, but I don't know when the next general election will be called. Only the prime minister knows.”
The cabinet will discuss the formation of the committee today, said Nazri, including the term of reference, number of members and BN candidates who will be in it.
He expects that it will be headed by Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia, while the opposition representatives in the committee will be decided by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
Nazri revealed that the cabinet, at its weekly meeting last Wednesday, had discussed Pakatan Rakyat's demand for an emergency parliamentary sitting over the allegation of permanent residents being given citizenship and voting rights.
The decision to form a parliamentary select committee was the outcome of the meeting, he said.
The announcement by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on Monday to form the committee has received the thumbs-up from both the opposition and civil society, including electoral reform coalition Bersih 2.0.
However, Pakatan has demanded that the committee should be chaired by an opposition MP, and urged Najib to give a guarantee that a general election will not be called until after the select committee finishes its work and the reforms it proposes are in place. - Malaysiakini
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