Advertisement
Malaysia
This Week in AsiaOpinion
Liew Chin Tong
Liew Chin Tong

Opinion | Malaysia’s political ceasefire is a move towards sensible reforms and away from back-stabbing, at long last

  • The opposition has pledged to support the Ismail Sabri administration’s bills, including the 2022 budget, if it carries out several reforms
  • These include amending the constitution to end party-hopping; lowering the voting age to 18; and capping the prime minister’s tenure at 10 years

Reading Time:5 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
2
Students wave national flags during Independence Day celebrations in Malaysia. Photo: AP
Liew Chin Tong
A fragile but historic political ceasefire is in place in Malaysia, at least until the middle of next year – giving the country the chance to move away from the turmoil of recent years and reshape the political landscape.
Advertisement
Newly installed Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has a slim majority in the lower house of parliament, with the support of only 114 out of 220 MPs. Ismail Sabri is from the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), but much like his predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin, he is fighting for survival against blackmail and sabotage by the Umno leadership led by its president and former deputy premier Zahid Hamidi, as well as disgraced former prime minister Najib Razak.

Against this backdrop, Ismail Sabri’s government has reached a confidence and supply understanding with opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan that provides for a truce until July 31 next year. The agreement is a common parliamentary mechanism for minority governments or those with slim majorities to continue to rule, with the opposition agreeing not to cause their collapse. In Malaysia, it is a groundbreaking feat.

The “Memorandum of Understanding for Transformation and Political Stability” comprises a package of fiscal and Covid-19 measures, along with a series of parliamentary and electoral reforms that have long been championed by Pakatan Harapan, which the Ismail Sabri administration conceded and agreed upon.

The government agreed to propose legislation to raise the ceiling for federal borrowing from 60 per cent to 65 per cent of GDP in October, in part to facilitate the injection of a 45 billion ringgit (US$10.8 billion) special stimulus plan.

Advertisement

It will also amend the national constitution to end party hopping, deemed as the cause of the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government; lower the voting age from 21 to 18, and implement automatic voter registration; limit the tenure of the prime minister to a maximum of 10 years; strengthen parliament and parliamentary committees; and provide equal monetary allocations to opposition MPs who are part of the confidence and supply understanding.

loading
Advertisement