Report card on MPs and assemblymen

Pilot project to be launched in Hulu Langat soon will give public a chance to rate and criticise their elected representatives.

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KUALA LUMPUR: A report card for Malaysian politicians will be launched soon. Drafted by voter activist group UndiMsia! and the Centre For Public Policy Studies (CPPS), the ‘Laporan Rakyat’ (report card) will give the public a chance to say what they really think about their elected representatives.

According to CPPS director, Ng Yeen Seen, the report card was a way of finding out how much people knew about their area’s politicians.

“We want to know what your MP or state assemblyman is talking about,” she told reporters at a press conference at the CPPS Jalan Ledang office here.

According to both groups, the Laporan Rakyat was meant to encourage Malaysians to think about their elected representatives in a critical manner.

This, they added, would also promote a more active participation in Malaysia’s democratic process.

Showing it to the press, the groups said that the Laporan Rakyat contained questionslike: “What is the most important thing your MP has done which positively affected you and your community?” and “Is it easy to meet your ADUN/MP?”.

Other queries also included asking respondents if they have heard their elected representatives talking about issues of concern in their respective communities.

The two groups insisted that the move, though politically-inclined, was non-partisan.

Ng said that the idea behind Laporan Rakyat came about because of a “serious gap” between elected representatives and the expectations of their constituents.

“People don’t know what their representatives are doing,” she said.

‘Warmly received by BN and Pakatan’

Ng added that many assemblyman and MPs claimed to have worked very hard for their areas without their voters knowing about it.

UndiMsia! spokesman Edmund Bon said that the Laporan Rakyat was going to be launched as a pilot project in Hulu Langat soon.

He said that the group planned to mobilise volunteers to speak to residents in Hulu Langat, get their input on the cards and collate the results over a three-month period.

“We will spend time, speaking to both urban and rural people,” Bon said, adding that UndiMsia! was already liasing with local village councils and politicians on the matter.

CPPS and UndiMsia! claimed that Laporan Rakyat was warmly received by both Barisan and Pakatan politicians in Hulu Langat.

“We went to all the assemblymens’ offices, explained this to them and asked them to assist us in this,” Bon added.

After the three-month period, the groups will release a report based on the Hulu Langat results.

They also hoped to get input from Malaysians over their elected candidates before the next general election.

Adding to this was CPPS chairman, Ramon Navaratnam, who claimed that elected representatives who did their job had nothing to fear.

“The good MPs and state assemblymen will like this, but the lousy ones will discredit this,” he said, referring to the Laporan Rakyat.

Navaratnam also asked people to take an interest in Malaysia’s political process, especially where their elected candidates were concerned.

“We blame the government and the opposition and the elected reps, but actually we should blame ourselves, because we put them in power,” he said.

UndiMsia! will be putting up an online version of Laporan Rakyat on its homepage www.undimsia.com.

Those interested can send the completed report to laporanrakyat@cpps.org.my, or fax it to 03-2093-3078 .