PSC to track Bersih demands: Nazri eats humble pie but Pakatan still wary

Minister in Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz has apparently agreed to base the Parliamentary Select Committee on Bersih's 8 recommended reforms after his initial refusal to do so attracted much public scorn that the government's will to clean up the voting system was insincere.

“We have agreed on what has been suggested by memo from the NGOs,” Nazri told reporters. Although he refused to name Bersih, which is still an outlawed organisation, it was clear he was referring to the respective NGOs that form the watchdog coalition.

However, given the fact that the existing system has been skewed to its current opaque state specially to enable the BN to hold onto its political power, doubt remains that it will actually allow a meaningful revamp of the system. This despite Prime Minister Najib Razak's recent rhetoric that he would not want to stay in office a day longer if he was not truly the people's choice.

"It looks like we are in for a marathon. Given that Najib has not assured that GE-13 won't be held before the 8 reforms are in place, I see no reason to celebrate," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

Closed club

Indeed, threats by the Pakatan Rakyat opposition coalition to boycott the PSC, in which they were offered only 3 seats out of 9, if Bersih was not allowed to be part of the process was another factor forcing the latest concession from BN.

Last week, Nazri was slammed for his arrogance when he refused to accept Bersih into the PSC by rudely asking, "Who's Bersih?"

Today, Nazri met with representatives from the Parliament, the Attorney-General’s Chambers and both the chairman and deputy chairman of the Election Commission.

“There is no point having a select committee if we don’t look into all these. We don’t want, as the opposition parties claim, to be window dressing. We will look into these from the point of view of prevention,” said Nazri.

According to him, it was agreed that the PSC would meet for six months and he would bring a motion to form the committeel on October 3, the first day of the next sitting, subject to Cabinet approval. The EC would also submit a memorandum on these recommendations in time for the Cabinet to discuss it in a meeting scheduled for September 7, he added.

He also explained that the six-month timeframe would allow the PSC to submit its findings a year before Najib's mandate expires in April 2013. The 8 point to be reviewed were (1) Cleaning up the electoral roll (2) Reforming postal or advance voting (3) Use of indelible ink versus the EC’s proposal of a biometric system (4) Extending the campaign period to 21 days (5) Free and fair access to media (6) Strengthening the credibility of the EC (7) End vote-buying (8) End dirty politics.

Other lawmakers expressed concern that these decisions were made without even involving the opposition and Bersih. Pakatan and Bersih have suggested a Royal Commission of Inquiry instead of the PSC.

"Only BN, the EC and the AG met. Is this a closed club?" PAS MP for Kuala Krai Hatta Ramli told Malaysia Chronicle.

- Malaysia Chronicle