The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has yet to fully come to terms with the March 8 political tsunami which swept away the Barisan Nasional’s hitherto unbroken two-thirds parliamentary majority and power in five states.
He said yesterday:
“I thank the Malaysian people for this message. Point made and point taken,”
Abdullah’s admission is not assuring enough, as he seems to have missed the whole point of the March 8 electoral verdict – not that he had “not moved fast enough” in reforms he pledged more than four years ago, but that he had hardly moved at all apart from periodically paying lip-service to them.
This is why there can be no political honeymoon for the second Abdullah Cabinet to implement what had been pledged four years ago as Malaysians are entitled to demand that these pledges going back to 2003 and 2004 are implemented without any further delay or hitches.
This is the reason why I had sent an urgent letter to the Prime Minister yesterday on the eight reforms which the new Cabinet should immediately embrace at its meeting today to show that the second Abdullah Cabinet is prepared to respond to the March 8 political tsunami and be on top of the changes demanded by Malaysians, in particular:
1. Immediate and unconditional release of the five Hindraf leaders, P. Uthayakumar, newly-elected DAP Selangor State Assemblyman for Kota Alam Shah M. Manoharan, V. Ganabatirau, R. Kenghadharan and T. Vasantha Kumar from Internal Security Act (ISA) detention.
2. Restoration of national and international confidence in the independence, integrity and quality of the judiciary.
3. First-World Parliament – full commitment to comprehensive parliamentary reform and modernization including live telecast of parliamentary proceedings, an Opposition Deputy Speaker, an Opposition MP to head the Public Accounts Committee, ministerial status for Parliamentary Opposition Leader and a full Select Committee system headed by Parliamentarians where every Ministry is shadowed by a Select Committee.
4. All-out drive to eradicate corruption with the elevation of the Anti-Corruption Agency as an autonomous agency answerable only to Parliament.
5. Full implementation of the 125 recommendations of the Royal Police Commission to create an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service to reduce crime, eradicate corruption and uphold human rights, particularly the establishment of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC).
6. All-party inquiry to enhance Malaysia’s international competitiveness including having a world-class education system to enable the country to successfully face the challenges of globalization.