KUCHING, Feb 6: Civil society organisation (CSO) coalition CSO Platform for Reform (CSO Platform) is calling on the unity government to take immediate action and make the Institutional Reform Committee (IRC) report public.
CSO Platform in a statement today emphasise that the report serves as the foundation for a better government and must be made available to the public without delay to enable them to make informed decisions in pushing for reforms.
“We implore the government to act expeditiously on our recommendations and to implement the reforms without any further delay.
“The people of Malaysia deserve a transparent, accountable, and responsive government, and the CSO Platform for Reform will continue to advocate for these reforms until they are fully realised,” it said.
On the same note, CSO Platform commends Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Dato Sri Azalina Othman Said for demonstrating remarkable leadership by convening consultations with the CSOs and stakeholders.
The coalition said it is a good restart to the reforms work that started in 2018, where the members of the CSO Platform for Reform and other members of the civil society submitted over 50 proposals to the IRC encompassing a wide range of reforms in policies, laws, parliament, governance, appointments, and institutions.
Apart from that, it said, they are also pleased to have received Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Johari Abdul’s support in principle of their recommendations for reform.
“These include the use of Public Service Commissions to decentralise power and enhance accountability through the establishment of inclusive and cross-party Parliamentary Special Select Committees and the Parliament Service Act.
“The Speaker also emphasised the importance of focused meetings between the CSO Platform for Reform and cross-party MPs to promote parliamentary engagement with the public,” it added. — DayakDaily
