Bersih lauds Democracy Index score but points to long road ahead

Bersih has congratulated the government, Election Commission (EC) and Malaysians for the nation being ranked 43 compared to 52 in 2018 in The Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index for 2019.

Describing it as a “remarkable achievement”, the electoral watchdog noted that Malaysia obtained the overall score of 7.16/10 with the highest score in electoral process and pluralism (9.17/10) and the lowest score in civil liberties (5.88).

The scores in other categories are 7.86 in the functioning of government, 6.67 in political participation and 6.25 in political culture.

Although this is a positive sign that Malaysia is moving towards a clean and fair election process, Bersih said there is still much to be done to achieve the status of a full democracy.

“The improvement as reported shows that our country is heading towards a better and mature democracy, but none of this will succeed if there is no political will from the government to guarantee that reforms, especially institutional reforms are implemented immediately.

“Bersih also hopes that the government, opposition and all Malaysians can work together to achieve full democracy,” said its steering committee in a statement this afternoon.

The watchdog also listed five of its demands, which were:

1) Institutional reform - To become a full democracy, it is important to restore the people's confidence in key government institutions such as the electoral management body, MACC, police, judiciary and of course the parliament that draft laws and policies.

Bersih wishes to remind the government that the process of appointing members of key institutions such as the EC, MACC, Judicial Appointment Commission, National Audit Department, Attorney General's Chambers, etc. must be transparent and not appointed by the prime minister alone to create a better check and balance in the government.

In addition, the government also needs to reintroduce the Parliamentary Service Act so that Parliament can appoint its own officials. The civil society organisations are still waiting for the government to change the law to make this a reality in the New Malaysia era.

2) Freedom of speech - The government should repeal laws that still restrict freedom of speech, such as the Sedition Act so that it cannot be used arbitrarily to suppress the people's criticism towards the government. All levels of government should also respect the freedom of speech without making it difficult for the people to hold a peaceful assembly.

We also wish to congratulate the government for the repeal of the Anti-Fake News Act. Even without this Act, the government can stop fake news and prosecute those who disseminate the news using existing laws.

3) Local government election - The government should reintroduce elections at the local government level to increase the process of participation of the people in making policies that will benefit them. The local government election, as the third vote of the people, is a very important democratic process of the country because it is the closest institution to the people. Local governments also need to be given more autonomy to create policies that benefit the people.

4) Prime Minister's powers - The government should reduce the executive power in the hands of the prime minister in order to prevent the misuse of power as it had happened before during the BN era. The PM's term needs to be limited to prevent politicians from holding power for too long, which could lead to abuse of power and corruption. Limiting the PM's term will also provide a more level power structure and a more stable political environment.

5) Political participation - As of 2019, there are 33 women in federal parliament (14.9 percent) and only five female Ministers (17.8 percent). Transformation can only happen with greater inclusion and leadership of women in this country. This should be a core aspect of Malaysia's commitment to gender equality by reflecting in the cabinet. Judging from the numbers, Pakatan Harapan's promise of 30 percent women representation in state and federal governments has not been fulfilled.