Projek BERES (Blueprint for Effective Reform of the Electoral System) Projek Membaharui Sistem Pilihanraya Malaysia

BACKGROUND Who are we? Projek BERES is an electoral reform group that is NOT interested in playing the blame game. Our focus is not on uncovering fraud and changing past results but in how to strengthen our electoral process. Our project is a citizen-initiated collaboration between Malaysians local and abroad, having access to a variety of election-related resources and who aim to provide a total and holistic proposal to improve our electoral democracy that takes into account contemporary factors and interests. We are NOT interested in polemic, but want to put forward a solution that offers as much improvement as possible while still being widely acceptable. Vision: We believe that ordinary citizens should play a key role in shaping our democracy. Our chief aim is to achieve a legislative system that empowers the rakyat fairly. Mission: To improve the credibility and integrity of the Malaysian electoral system in line with established principles and practices in other parts of the world. We are presenting to the current government, the opposition and to the nation a comprehensive, ready-to-use blueprint for electoral reform that is meaningful. It will dive into constitutional provisions, electoral legislation and even micro-level election procedures. Objectives: To review current electoral legislation, including the Federal Constitution, Elections Act, Electoral Offences Act, Election Commission Act, Conduct of Elections Regulations, Registration of Electors Regulations and Postal Voting Regulations, to assess adequacy and appropriateness of provisions;

 To recommend, add and draft amendments to regulations to address any inadequacies in the provisions; To benchmark local electoral practices against regional peers and international standards; To present our findings, recommendations and draft amendments to the relevant authorities; To further empower public institutions to carry out their respective duties as expected in a mature democracy; To introduce further measures to ensure all parties involved in electoral governance maintain ethics, transparency and accountability; To educate the voting public on the inadequacies and implications of current electoral legislation and practices, and our suggested amendments; To branch out into other opportunities for improving electoral governance.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Having studied these areas extensively, we are ready to put forward the following interim CORE PROPOSALS that will form the backbone of the Projek BERES blueprint.

Ensure equality of voter representation We propose to hit the RESET button to ensure each vote is as equal as possible under current sociopolitical circumstances. We want to increase Parliamentary seats to 230 and distribute to States using TWO methodologies: Firstly, federal seats for each state must reasonably reflect voter population. Therefore, for eg, Selangor seats will increase and Johor seats decrease. Secondly, Sabah and Sarawak seats must increase in accordance with the ratio of seats in the 1963 Malaysia Agreement. These two steps RESET the distribution by going back to square one in terms of what was agreed by the three partners of the federation, and also ensuring that in the Peninsula, all voters are treated as equally as possible. Ensure fair conditions for constituency redelineation In view of the constituency delimitation that is expected to be carried out by the Election Commission before the end of 2013, we also have a sister group, Projek Persempadanan,

carrying out an extensive redelineation of electorates in Malaysia. Projek Persempadanan is made up of Malaysians of all walks of life, including data analysts, geographers and mappers. The results of this highly labour intensive project will be presented to the Election Commission. We redefine the guidelines for constituency delimitation, identify the related clauses in the Federal and State Constitutions and propose the necessary amendments. For eg, to eliminate gross malapportionment, we want each constituency to be within 10 percent of the electoral quota for Peninsular Malaysia and 15 percent for Sabah and Sarawak, to reflect the much wider infrastructural gaps there. Boundaries Commission We propose to establish an independent Boundaries Commission to be charged with the responsibility of defining reasonable and equitable constituency delimitations, as is practised in the UK and New Zealand. Members of the Boundaries Commission will be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong with the concurrence of the Conference of Rulers and the Opposition Leader. It will be a 5-person panel so that decisions can be voted upon easily. Two members should be from the States of Malaya (ie Peninsular and Federal Territories together, including Labuan). The other two members should be from Sabah and Sarawak. Code of Conduct during Elections and Caretaker Government We offer a revitalised Code of Conduct for elections and expand it to include the activities of a Caretaker Government. Such a Caretaker Government undergoes a rigorous selection process before obtaining the approval of the incumbent Government and the Opposition. The Caretaker Government is to be headed by an Interim Prime Minister who is not the incumbent PM. Its members are disallowed from engaging in electioneering activities and all expenditures are to be reported. Election Commission The EC is to act independently in the appointment and maintenance of its members and officers, and the execution of its duties. The Election Commission shall be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong after consultation with the Conference of Rulers and the concurrence of the Opposition Leader and shall consist of a chairman, a deputy chairman and five other members. Members of the Election Commission shall be drawn from civil society of diverse sectors and professions and should have demonstrated knowledge or interest in electoral matters. At least one member each shall come from Sabah and Sarawak. Oversight of registration of political parties and organisations is transferred from the Registrar of Societies to the EC.

 The EC and its officers, who are drawn from civil society, are empowered to verify identity and citizenship of electors. Election Ombudsman An Election Ombudsman is introduced to monitor the Election Commission, which currently has unfettered powers to run all matters related to an election. The Ombudsman will address complaints on the conduct of the Commission and ensures it fulfils its mandate, as well as review regulations and procedures in how an election is carried out. However, any legal failings by the Commission or other persons will still be up to the Public Prosecutor to take up in court. Referendum We propose three different kinds of referenda: 1) compulsory referenda on matters concerning the fundamental liberties recognised in the Federal Constitution; 2) citizens-initiated referenda; and 3) referenda initiated by the Federal or State governments. Such referenda should be binding on the government. However, a successful referendum result may be vetoed by the vote of 75% of all Members of the House of Representatives (or Members of the State Assembly in the case of a State referendum).