LETTER | Stop undignified politics
LETTER | The Muslim Youth Movement Malaysia (Abim) has been closely monitoring recent developments in Malaysian politics which have raised serious concerns among Malaysians.
Abim firmly sees the power grab which took place as being a power-hungry act by the ruling elites in our society and it is an act that is causing the rakyat to suffer.
LETTER | The Muslim Youth Movement Malaysia (Abim) has been closely monitoring recent developments in Malaysian politics which have raised serious concerns among Malaysians.
Abim firmly sees the power grab which took place as being a power-hungry act by the ruling elites in our society and it is an act that is causing the rakyat to suffer.
We reject the dirty political games stemming from animosities between politicians. The immoral and undignified act of buying support through political appointments to further the self-interests of certain political quarters will never benefit the nation.
Furthermore, the recent political disorder has clearly demonstrated that the rakyat's voice has been trampled as politicians seek to perpetuate their own political power.
Therefore, as part of a continuous commitment to standing for the rakyat's best interests, Abim firmly urges the following:
1. All politicians should take responsibility for the political turmoil that is happening and work towards legislating relevant laws to prevent the perversion of the people’s mandate. This includes amending laws to empower constituents to call for their constituency’s MP to resign. This can be achieved through mechanisms such as petitions. Such mechanisms should be invoked should an MP fail to respect the mandate given to him/her, or be involved in any criminal activity. Using the UK's Recall of MPs Act 2015 as an example, when a petition to call for an MP to resign reaches a certain threshold, the MP shall resign from his/her position and a by-election shall take place.2. All politicians should focus their efforts towards rehabilitating the country’s economy that has been adversely affected due to both domestic and global factors. The youth that has been especially affected by this should be given immediate attention by all parties involved.
3. All politicians should commit towards a reform agenda, especially in creating a system of governance to prevent abuse of power and corruption by the authorities. More importantly, the principle of separation of powers must be upheld and the office of the attorney-general and all enforcement institutions should be free from the executive's influence. This includes the promise made by the prime minister to the people that all cabinet members will be declaring their assets in an open and transparent manner.Abim, alongside the people of Malaysia, is consistently committed to the restoration and rehabilitation of our country’s image in the world’s eyes as a country that holds dignity, integrity and sovereignty in the highest regard.
MUHAMMAD FAISAL ABDUL AZIZ is the president of Muslim Youth Movement Malaysia (Abim)
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
