The BN-led Johor state administration has come under fire over its proposal to appoint five unelected lawmakers to the state legislative assembly.
In a statement, electoral reform group Tindak objected to the suggestion, saying it was unnecessary and would risk weakening the state's democratic mandate.
Tindak director Danesh Prakash Chacko said such a practice would artificially inflate a government's majority and create a "self-serving" mechanism for the ruling party.
"Based on the proposed bill, the appointment process requires a motion of seven assemblypersons and a simple majority within the assembly; the authority to select these members rests entirely with the ruling coalition of the day.
"This creates a self-serving mechanism where the ruling coalition can allocate these seats to itself. It is also unlikely that the ruling coalition will share these seats across party lines," he said.
Danesh added that the appointed assemblypersons also lack accountability as they are not answerable to constituents, and the rakyat would be left without a democratic mechanism to remove them.
The state government has also failed to provide a clear and objective justification for proposing such appointments, he said.
Clear functional need
The NGO leader also compared Johor's plan with the mechanism in Terengganu's state constitution, which he said ties the power to appoint unelected lawmakers to "a clear functional need".
He said Terengganu can only appoint assemblypersons if the election fails to produce a woman or non-Muslim representative, whereas Johor's proposal has no such prerequisite.
"Without these defined boundaries, the state assembly is effectively granted the power to add members at its whim and fancy, regardless of whether the assembly already reflects the state's diversity," Danesh stressed.
According to news reports, the Johor government is planning to table a motion to amend the state constitution, aimed at allowing the appointment of up to five more state assembly members.
The assembly has a total of 56 seats.
It has since drawn criticism from opposition parties and BN allies in the federal government, including DAP and PKR.
Lacking consultation
In a statement today, Johor PKR also expressed disagreement with the proposal, citing a lack of consultation.
Its chief Dr Zaliha Mustafa said the proposal has raised a fundamental question regarding the principle of democratic representation.
"Any change to the composition of the state legislative assembly must be carried out responsibly, taking into account the long-term implications for the balance of power and the integrity of the legislative institution.
"Johor PKR is of the view that introducing representatives who are not elected, yet are granted voting rights equal to those chosen by the people, could create a perception of imbalance in the democratic mandate.
"This matter requires deeper scrutiny to ensure it does not undermine the legitimacy of the state assembly as an institution," she added.
Zaliha urged the Johor government to postpone its plan and initiate a thorough engagement with all stakeholders.
More transparent and independent mechanisms must also be established to ensure that appointed representatives genuinely add value, she said.
Number of sittings
DAP’s Mengkibol assemblyperson Chew Chong Sin questioned the need to appoint unelected lawmakers in the assembly.
He urged the state government to increase the frequency of state assembly sittings per year instead.
"Why is there a need to add non-constituent state legislators since the state assembly meets less than 20 days a year?
"Instead of having more official assemblypersons without an electoral constituency, how about increasing the number of assembly sitting days to discuss and resolve the problems of more people?" he said on Facebook. - Mkini
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