PETALING JAYA: A think tank today proposed that politicians work towards a bipartisan commitment to institutional reforms to show their sincerity in the run-up to the 14th general election (GE14).

The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) said this would also demonstrate that the parties were not just trying to score political points.

It praised the calls for reforms from both sides of the political divide, saying the proposals were a long time coming and echoed what civil society had been championing all along.

“I hope they will now find common ground and support the reforms in a bipartisan way, rather than just making them campaign slogans,” IDEAS coordinator of the Democracy and Governance Unit Aira Azhari said in a statement.

In its annual convention on Jan 7, Pakatan Harapan announced its political reform proposals, which included reform of Parliament to ensure its independence, a limit on the term of the prime minister and measures to ensure that persons appointed to top public positions are answerable to Parliament.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said yesterday that key institutions must show the highest level of integrity to further the war on corruption.

Calling these positive ideas, Aira said political parties should not need an election to call for such reforms.

“A well-functioning liberal democracy is not merely about conducting elections every five years.

“Institutions must be fully independent and conflicts of interest must be prevented,” she said.

First published in Free Malaysia Today, on January 17, 2018.