DAP has urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to expedite several key reforms, including the separation of the roles of the attorney-general and public prosecutor, and set a year-end deadline for the relevant bills to be passed.
DAP chairman Gobind Singh Deo said the party’s decision to remain in government positions came with a mandate to take decisive action on major institutional and economic reforms.
Besides the bill to separate the attorney-general and public prosecutor roles, DAP also wants reforms including a two-term limit for the prime minister, as well as amendments to the Peaceful Assembly Act and the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act, or Sosma.
Key bills already prepared
Gobind said the groundwork for these changes had already been laid.
‘Both the AG-PP separation and the two-term limit bills have been prepared, while a ministerial statement on Sosma amendments was tabled in Parliament as far back as February last year.
‘Amendments to the Peaceful Assembly Act have similarly been under discussion for months. We must finalise and table them without any further delays.
‘I urge the prime minister to take immediate action to realise these reforms. There must be clear, unyielding timelines set for foundational institutional reforms,’ he said in a statement.
Call for greater urgency
Gobind said the government had acted quickly in convening a special Dewan Rakyat sitting to debate the declassified report of the royal commission of inquiry into Tabung Haji.
He said Anwar’s administration should demonstrate similar urgency in advancing crucial reforms.
Gobind suggested allocating additional sitting days for the next Dewan Rakyat meeting, which is scheduled to run from October to December, to ensure the bills could be tabled and passed.
‘DAP remains fully committed to ensuring that these reforms are carried through without further delay. We should look towards getting these bills passed before the end of this year,’ said Gobind, the digital minister in Anwar’s Cabinet.
DAP sets focus on institutional reforms
Gobind said DAP’s continued participation in government came with a responsibility to pursue the reforms it had committed to.
He said the government must move decisively to complete the key institutional reforms and avoid further delays in bringing the proposed legislation before Parliament.
