Forget polls, form unity govt after emergency, say analysts

 

Lim Teck Ghee and Tajuddin Rasdi say a unity government will ensure a much more cohesive and effective government during the current health crisis.

PETALING JAYA: A unity government must be formed after the emergency ends, instead of putting the country at risk with a general election during the Covid-19 pandemic, say two analysts.

In a statement, social scientist Lim Teck Ghee and academic Tajuddin Rasdi said the prime minister and his ministers need a mandate and legitimacy to govern until the next GE.

Lim, formerly of the World Bank, and Tajuddin of UCSI University said a unity government would ensure a much more cohesive and effective government during the health crisis.

“No authority, be it medical or non-medical, can guarantee that the holding of the general election at the end of 2021 or even early 2022 can avoid a worst-case health scenario, that could bring the nation’s economy and society to its knees,” they said.

Due to that, Lim and Tajuddin said the formation of a national unity government could be done in an open and transparent democratic process when Parliament reconvenes.

They proposed for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to exercise the constitutional prerogative not to call for elections and instead suggested a procedure to instal a unity government under the leadership of a prime minister who has the undisputed support from a majority of the MPs.

“All MPs could write his or her choice of the prime minister. This can be done without the need for the proposer to reveal their identity and to avoid any repercussions arising from their choice,” they said.

The top five choices, they said, with the most nominations could be named without revealing the numbers. They will then proceed to the next selection round. A similar process of anonymous selection will take place involving all MPs choosing only one name from among the five.

“Whichever one of the five who receives a majority of the votes will be deemed to be the prime minister. Should there be no absolute majority, then the top two names with the highest votes could proceed to the final round of balloting,” they proposed.

“Upon selection, the chosen prime minister will then be required to put together a unity government of his choice,” they said.

Lim and Tajuddin added that the prime minister must also ensure at least a third of the ministers and deputy ministers in the unity government comprises opposition MPs.

“This will mean that the prime minister’s own coalition will have two-thirds of the Cabinet positions or even less should he be able to bring in members without any political affiliation who have strong records of integrity and merit,” they said.

Lim and Tajuddin further proposed for two deputy prime ministers to ensure regional balance and greater cohesion and for the unity government to remain in place until GE15 is held.

They said these are extraordinary times and measures need to be taken to ensure that the nation’s governance and political administration continue to function normally.

“It is also important during this critical period that our political leadership enjoys the confidence and full support of Malaysians,” they said.

The move is to avoid any political stalemate if general elections are held after the emergency, they added.

Since September last year, there has been a fallout between Bersatu and Umno with the latter stating they may pull out from the government as early as August. Umno, however, declared in its general assembly in March, that it would not be cooperating with Bersatu in GE15. - FMT