KUALA LUMPUR: Former Bersih leader Datuk Dr Ambiga Sreenevasan has urged the unity government to accelerate its agenda for reforms.

Ambiga said it shouldn't take much time, as many reforms were still pending implementation.

Ambiga, who is also the former chair of Bersih's Institutional Reform Committee, lamented that Putrajaya was delaying such crucial reforms.

"Change is good. Leadership change is good. Bersih, every two years there is a change. So the first reform should not take very long.

"Secondly, why do we still have the Sedition Act. We were fighting against it for the longest time. This (members of the current) government was fighting against it.

"But once people get into power, they love it. Why? I don't understand. That is why we need the leadership to really listen to the people.

"The country is supposed to be democratic. The Sedition Act must go," Ambiga said during the panel discussion titled 'Where Are All the Reforms? Promises and Perils of Reformist' at the Bersih Congress here today.

She also described the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 and the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 as some of the 'very old' legislations that must be repealed.

"These are reforms we fought for together with members of the current government. We fought for this.

"We must insist on this. There is no excuse for the government to drag its feet on these key amendments because it will make Malaysia a better place," she said.

Ambiga also criticised the act of "weaponising the MACC" for political needs and stressed that the appointment of the key authorities must go through Parliament.

She also emphasised the need to form the Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), stressing that the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) do not have any enforcement powers.

Regarding statelessness, she condemned proposed constitutional amendments that could render more children stateless, questioning the government's rationale behind such actions.

"Did anyone ask this government to amend the constitution? Why would you do that?

"They brought in other amendments that are completely unacceptable. They want to act. They can act very fast. So that has not gone through because of all the outcry by the public," she added.

Meanwhile, Bersih executive director Ooi Kok Hin expressed disappointment over the government's failure to enact electoral reforms since the 2018 democratic transition.

"Six years have passed since the 14th general election ended. However, six years after that and 548 days after prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim took office, no electoral reforms have happened.

"This is very disappointing because don't the leaders who hold power today know the problem? Because they were with us campaigning around the country, saying this is the problem," he said.

Ooi said the government therefore does not need to be convinced of the problems and only needed political will to address them.

He also called for immediate amendments to the Election Offences Act 1954 and emphasised the importance of properly vetting candidates to prevent election rule violations.

At present, he said that while candidates do submit their expenditure reports, these reports are not subjected to audits, thereby enabling individuals who violate the law to walk free.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/05/1055157/bersih-leaders-lament-govts-delay-implementing-reforms