September 16, 2020 (PN)

The parliamentary whips of all parties agreed “in principle” to push for a legal amendment to the Election Commission Act 1957 to enforce a party-list system, where voters would elect parties rather than individuals.  

The former facto law minister, who leads the bipartisan parliamentary caucus on electoral reforms, told Malay Mail this agreement was reached in informal meetings to deliberate on the matter.

Mohamed Nazri, a trained lawyer, said that the amendment to the Election Commission Act 1957 to enforce a party-list system, in which voters would elect parties rather than individuals, only needed a simple majority to be approved. He said this was unlike the two-thirds majority necessary for amendments to the Federal Constitution.

“When it’s going to happen is secondary. Most important, the political will to push for it, and when I talk about the Act, it’s about (getting) a simple majority. We don’t need to have a two-thirds majority — which is needed if we want to amend the Constitution, but if we want to amend an Act, it just needs a simple majority.

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