Press statement by Pakatan Harapan Sarawak on 26 August 2021:
The Pakatan Harapan Sarawak has met this afternoon and we are unanimous in our view that the meetup of the Prime Minister Ismail Sabri with the PH leaders Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Guan Eng and Mohamad Sabu is a positive political development in the country.
This will be the first step to change from previous domineering top-down way of governing to one that seeks co-operation and consensus from both sides of the House. Such a change will not be possible if there is one dominant party or a very lopsided number of representatives between the ruling coalition and the Opposition.
Therefore, it is pertinent upon the Government to quickly set in motion concrete institutional reforms and economic revival policies proposed by Pakatan Harapan so as to restore public confidence in the political system of the country and to save lives and our economy in the current Covid-19 pandemic.
1. Set up a mechanism to make sure public funds are correctly spent
To save the economy, businesses and employment, not only must the new Government inject more fund into the system (an example of which is the RM45 billion fiscal injection as suggested by PH), there must also be a mechanism set up to monitor and oversee the actual implementation of such allocation to ensure that it actually reaches the people and businesses.
2. Implement mass Covid-19 testing and contact testing strategy
To curb the spread of the Covid-19, the Government must immediately implement the mass testing and contact tracing strategy instead of the current restrictive number of testing strategy. In other words, the Government should make free testing available to all.
3. Immediately implement Undi-18 and enact an anti-party-hopping law
To restore public confidence in our political system, the Government must first and foremost enact the anti-hopping law to curb all party-hopping activities in future. It is only when the voters are assured that the winning candidates will not party-hop after being elected that they will have the confidence in our electoral system and the desire to vote. This includes the immediate implementation of Undi 18 to acknowledge the role of young people in our
democracy.
