JOHOR BARU, Oct 3 — The Johor Pakatan Harapan (PH) Backbenchers Club intends to initiate an outreach programme in each district of the state in an effort to educate the public.
Chairman Khairuddin A. Rahim said the purpose of the initiative is to inform the people about the functions of the club that provides assistance and services to the community as well as the members' participation in the state legislative assembly.
“We will try to explain to the public about the legislative power and what they can and cannot do.
“In addition to that, the public must also be exposed to the concept of legislative, executive and judicial separation of powers.
“We want the people to apply the functions of the assemblyman more effectively in their role and also to uphold democracy in the government,” said Khairuddin today.
His suggestion came after he attended the 64th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Kampala, Uganda recently.
The conference took place on September 24 to 29, with Johor sending five representatives.
Khairuddin, who is also the Senggarang assemblyman, said the public must understand the legislative process.
He said such a programme would target groups such as political parties, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or community associations, community leaders, students and interested individuals.
“The programme is able to effectively coordinate the role of the people's representatives from the eyes of the electorate,” said Khairuddin.
The 60-year-old environmental activist stressed that such a programme would be able to develop an effective representative and also improve transparency for the people.
Khairuddin added that the idea for the programme came from a presentation during a workshop in conjunction with the recent Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference that he attended.
“Many Commonwealth countries have implemented such programmes and it is good if we can implement it in Johor,” he said.
The annual Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference offers the opportunity for members from more than 50 countries to benefit from professional development, supportive learning and the sharing of best practice with colleagues from Commonwealth parliaments together with the participation of leading international organisations.
