There are rumors that our Prime Minister may cause non-Members of Parliament to be appointed as Senators so that they could be included as Cabinet members....just like our past UMNO-BN? So sad...
'Political Appointee' Senators must come to an end - to be replaced by democratically elected by the people Senators...
'Political Appointee' Senators must come to an end - to be replaced by democratically elected by the people Senators...
Malaysians want greater democracy - that means the people should be able to democratically elect their own Senators - no more political appointees, which are determined by the government of the day at Federal and/or State levels...
ABOLISH THE SENATE - useless if they are all 'political appointees' of governments at the Federal level and State? It will save Malaysia and Malaysians a lot of MONEY - because it now cost us a lot to maintain the Senate ...wages and allowances of the Senate...
SENATORIAL ELECTIONS is already provided for in our Federal Constitution - so let the people democratically elect these Senators.
(4) Parliament may by law -
(a) increase to three the number of members to be elected for each State;
(b) provide that the members to be elected for each State shall be so elected by the direct vote of the electors of that State;
(c) decrease the number of appointed members or abolish appointed members.
Now, the Constitution states - 2 Senators from each of the 13 States, 2 from FT Kuala Lumpur, 1 from FT Putrajaya, 1 from FT Labuan, 40 appointed by the Federal Government...
PROPOSAL
- DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS for all State and FT Senators by the people..
- ELECTIONS BY THE PEOPLE for all Federal Senators but maybe 4-5 Senators..
- 20 can be chosen and appointed by the different sectors (best that there be elections here between the people in these sectors - for the Legal Profession, Peninsular and Sabah-Sarawak lawyers could vote for their representative to the Senate...)
Example:-
3 representing workers/trade unions, one from Peninsular, one from Sabah and one from Sarawak.
3 representing industry/employers, one from Peninsular, one from Sabah and one from Sarawak.
1 from Consumer Organisations
3 from Civil Society Organisations,one from Peninsular, one from Sabah and one from Sarawak.
1 from Islamic Groups/Associations
1 from non-Islamic Religious groups
2 from Legal Profession
2 from the Judiciary(a retired Judge)
2 from Accounting profession
2 from Engineering/Architectural
2 from Teaching Profession/Academia
2 from Farmers/Fisheries Community
3 from Indigenous Peoples , one from Peninsular, one from Sabah and one from Sarawak.
1 from people with Disability groups
2 from young people groups(less than 25 years of age) , one from Peninsular, one from Sabah and one from Sarawak.
2 from women's groups, one from Peninsular, one from Sabah and one from Sarawak.
It comes to 36 Senators here - but we can reduce numbers to the appropriate...Maybe leaving 4 to be appointed by Parliament.
Liew Chin Tong is a good man, and he does not need to be appointed as Senator ...or even as a member of the Cabinet to be able to serve us Malaysians...there are so many other possibilities...
NO MORE 'POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS' OF SENATORS - LET US DEMOCRATICALLY ELECT OUR SENATORS ...AND MAKE THE SENATE a real 'Upper House' of Parliament, who will really play the role they were meant to play - and no longer simply be 'rubber stamps' for the political parties in government that appoint them. Our Senate now is just too afraid to go against the Dewan Rakyat or the government of the day...This must change ...and that is why they need to be also elected directly by the PEOPLE...
Liew Chin Tong is a good man, and he does not need to be appointed as Senator ...or even as a member of the Cabinet to be able to serve us Malaysians...there are so many other possibilities...
NO MORE 'POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS' OF SENATORS - LET US DEMOCRATICALLY ELECT OUR SENATORS ...AND MAKE THE SENATE a real 'Upper House' of Parliament, who will really play the role they were meant to play - and no longer simply be 'rubber stamps' for the political parties in government that appoint them. Our Senate now is just too afraid to go against the Dewan Rakyat or the government of the day...This must change ...and that is why they need to be also elected directly by the PEOPLE...
See earlier posts:-
Senate - Problems with a majority UMNO-BN appointed Senators, and the REFORMS needed?
Liew tipped for Mindef post to raise non-Malay military profile
DAP strategist is almost certain to be made deputy defence minister after he is made a senator, according to FMT's source.
Johor DAP leader Liew Chin Tong, expected to be made deputy defence minister. (Facebook pic)
KUALA LUMPUR: DAP strategist Liew Chin Tong is tipped to fill the key
post of deputy defence minister in what the military hopes will be a
strategic move to break the image of the armed forces as a largely
single-race organisation.
His appointment is expected within weeks, after he is first appointed
a senator, and would come soon after the Pakatan Harapan federal
government was forced to defend the appointments of non-Malays to senior
government positions long held by Malays.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, after meeting with top Pakatan
Harapan leaders today, confirmed that the person to be appointed as
deputy defence minister was not an elected representative.
“We have to appoint the person as a senator first,” he said.
Liew refused to confirm or deny when asked if he was informed of his
appointment as deputy to Mohamad Sabu, the defence minister.
“No comment,” he said when asked by FMT.
His appointment to a portfolio that oversees the overwhelmingly-Malay
armed forces might not see the kind of protests that greeted the
appointments of Lim Guan Eng as finance minister and Tommy Thomas as
attorney-general.
A senior source in the military, who spoke to FMT, said Liew’s
appointment would go a long way in helping the armed forces as “we
struggle to overcome our image as a single-race organisation”.
“Maybe with a non-Malay in the position, it would finally encourage more from the community to be part of the armed forces.
“It’s something we have failed despite all our efforts to woo them,”
said the officer, who is part of the army’s intelligence unit. He spoke
to FMT on condition of anonymity.
Last month, Istana Negara dismissed reports that the Yang di-Pertuan
Agong was reluctant to consent to Tommy Thomas’s appointment as
attorney-general amid criticism that the lawyer was not qualified for
the post due to his weak grasp of the Malay language as well as his
ethnic background.
Liew heads DAP’s Political Education Bureau and is Johor DAP chief.
He was MP for Kluang but was among a handful of senior party leaders who
failed to win a seat in the general election on May 9.
He lost in Ayer Hitam against MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong, the
former deputy education minister, who won with a majority of just over
300 votes. Liew has filed an election petition to challenge the results.
The armed forces, which are predominantly Malay, announced plans last
year to increase the recruitment of non-Malays by 10% annually.
The move drew support from vocal veterans group, the National Patriot
Association, which said non-Malays and non-Muslims were reluctant to
join due to “distinctive divisions along ethnic lines” in the armed
forces.
Retired Brigadier-General Mohd Arshad Raji, who heads Patriot, had
then said that affirmative action policies in favour of Malays had
affected the military administration, with many non-Malays “feeling
unwelcome”.
“Individuals were not made to feel important and desired.
“Instead, a feeling as an ‘outsider’ made many feel unwelcome,”
Arshad had told FMT, adding that patriotism among non-Malays was never
an issue.- FMT, 6/7/2018
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