Kit Siang backs 'Better Malaysia Assembly' proposed by Nazir and others

 

DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang has thrown his support behind a proposed non-partisan platform to address institutional reforms which MPs have failed to do.

The proposed creation of a "Better Malaysia Assembly" was made by banker Nazir Abdul Razak, the brother of ex-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, and 54 others in a letter to the Conference of Rulers.

"I fully support the proposal by Nazir Razak and a group of 54 other prominent individuals who have urged the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Conference of Rulers to endorse the establishment of a non-partisan platform, a 'Better Malaysia Assembly', to propose reforms and reset of national institutions and systems.

"As the letter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Conference of Rulers has said, successive prime ministers have come into power promising substantial reforms, but these promises often give way to racial and religious overtones, and little change is ultimately achieved," Lim said in a statement.

The letter noted that parliamentarians often fail to address structural issues because they often prioritise short-term interests and their own election, and therefore a deliberative platform would be a better approach to push for institutional reforms.

It would identify specific policies and legislative changes that are required, which Nazir estimated would take 18 to 24 months of deliberation behind closed doors to reach a consensus.

Lim (above) also zoomed in on Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's "Keluarga Malaysia" slogan, indicating that it has not helped Malaysia's standing in the world.

"Will Keluarga Malaysia save Malaysia from being a failed state, as Malaysia had been slipping from the international table of competitiveness and successful nations?" he said.

Lim noted that on Ismail Sabri's 100th day as prime minister on Aug 28, the country would see around a million new Covid-19 cases since he took power as well an additional 16,000 deaths.

He said while the country has arrested an exponential growth of new infections, it still lags behind regional peers such as Indonesia and the Phillippines. - Mkini