APRIL 9 — Undi18 strongly urges Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to ensure that the Madani government’s spirit of transparency, accountability, and reform is reflected in the appointment of the new Election Commission (EC) Chairperson. With the current EC chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Salleh, due to retire in May 2024, the government must appoint the incoming EC chairperson wisely.
We call for the upcoming EC Chairperson to fulfill three criteria:
- An electoral expert with significant experience working on electoral reforms
- A reformist that will undertake the necessary reforms to our electoral system
- An independent that is unaffiliated with any political party
The upcoming EC chairperson vacancy comes at a critical time for Malaysia as it will coincide with the re-delineation of the electoral boundaries process in Sarawak (ongoing), Sabah (2025), and peninsular Malaysia (2026). This re-delineation is particularly crucial, as it will be the first electoral boundary review since the implementation of the Undi18 Bill — which has seen over 8 million new voters added to the electoral roll. The government must ensure that the upcoming delineation exercise takes place with independence and transparency and without any interference from the government or politicians.
The EC must also speed up long-overdue reforms for other aspects of our electoral system, such as changes to the postal voting system, amendments to the Electoral Offenses Act, and the implementation of election expenditure audits for candidates and political parties. With this in mind, the government must not only appoint an independent and reform-minded EC chairperson but must also commit to non-interference in the duties of the EC in order to allow it to operate independently and fairly for the interests of all Malaysians.
However, we also wish to stress to the government the need for the establishment of an independent Parliamentary Standing Committee for Appointments to scrutinize the appointment of key government officials, including the chairperson of the EC, which was a key aspect of Pakatan Harapan’s election manifesto. The government must ensure an independent and reform-minded EC chairperson as a shepherd for Malaysia’s democracy — regardless of whichever party wins power in the future.
In a democracy, electoral reforms are the mother of all reforms. Electoral reform and good governance have been the rallying cry for the Pakatan Harapan coalition for decades. It will be a betrayal of the people’s mandate should the Prime Minister and the Madani government miss the opportunity and neglect their responsibility to appoint a competent, independent, and reform-minded EC chairperson.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
