KUALA LUMPUR: The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) reminds Putrajaya that 2024 and 2025 are very critical for this country's democratisation efforts.

Its chairman Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz said this period is crucial for the government to launch its reform agenda within its current mandate.

He expressed concern that if these reforms are not implemented now, they will be 'buried' and the current administration will not have the opportunity to implement them.

"We have explained to PMX (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) that this is the right time for you to implement the reform agenda.

"There are state elections in Sabah and Sarawak, followed by Melaka and Johor. Politicians will be busy talking about elections. We do not want reforms to be sidelined during these four years of the unity government.

"It is not about us being impatient, or us being overly obsessed with reform, but we are concerned that if we don't push now, in four years, the reform agenda will be completely buried and not implemented (by the unity government)," he said in his policy speech at the 2024 Bersih Congress here today.

Meanwhile, he said last year, political excuses were used amid the chaos of political clashes aimed at toppling the government, along with the preoccupation of leaders diving into election campaigns in six states.

This year, however, the government is showing increasing stability.

"The stability of the government which is also supported by Bersih today should open up space for the government to move forward with the reform agenda that was promised without forgetting the economic agenda and other people's cost of living."

The group is asking Putrajaya to speed up the previously promised institutional reforms citing several examples of unfulfilled reform promises.

This includes separating the roles of the attorney general and the public prosecutor, and involving parliament in appointing the chairman of the Election Commission.

He said Malaysia stands at a crossroads; either it will pursue genuine reforms for democratisation and better governance, or risk 'corrupted reforms' when this reform agenda is buried.

The group said there is a connection between reformation and democracy.

However, without reform, it said, it is certain that democracy will shrink and even become regressive.

"Similarly, without democracy, it will close the space for reformation based on the aspirations of the people's sacred voice to be implemented.

"The struggle to uphold reformation and democracy should go hand in hand, realising the compatibility of the two mutually empowering relationships," he said.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/05/1055128/bersih-calls-immediate-reforms-putrajaya-avoid-buried-agenda