PUTRAJAYA: Several Bills that reflect government efforts to boost reforms and enhance public institutions will be tabled in Parliament soon, says Fahmi Fadzil.
The Communications Minister, who also serves as the spokesman for the unity government, said feedback from electoral reform watchdog Bersih had been reviewed.
"The government, as always, takes into account views from stakeholders and will strive to improve the quality of services through efforts, initiatives, enhancements, changes and reforms," he told a post-Cabinet meeting press conference here on Friday (Nov 22).
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Fahmi said this included institutional reforms, and that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said is expected to table several Bills in this area.
"Some Bills may be brought forward to the first meeting of the next parliamentary session, scheduled to begin in February," he added.
On Thursday (Nov 21), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the Madani government had accepted its D grade from Bersih but was positive it would get an improved rating next time.
He said the grade was acceptable considering that the government has only served for two years so far.
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"It is (better) to get a ‘D’ instead of an ‘F.’ Today, we get a ‘D’ grade for UPSR and next time we can get an ‘A’ for SPM,” he told the Dewan Rakyat.
On Nov 20, Bersih gave the Pakatan Harapan-led administration a grade of “D” in its mid-term evaluation, attributing the poor assessment to the coalition government’s failure to carry out significant institutional reforms.
At Friday's press conference, Fahmi pointed out that many of the Bills for reforms and other improvements were still works in progress, including the ones under his ministry.
"For example, the Malaysian Media Council Bill is in its final stages before being tabled in Parliament.
"We hope to have its first reading this session, reflecting the government's commitment to improvement, including enhancing the ecosystem for media practitioners," he said.
On a separate matter, Fahmi confirmed that the proposed tabling of the Gig Worker Bill will be postponed.
"I can confirm that the matter was discussed (at the Cabinet meeting) and... the Human ResourcesMinister intends to postpone the tabling to allow further engagement with various parties.
"For further questions about the timeline, refer directly to the HR Minister," he added.
On the Opposition's willingness to resume talks on MPs' allocations, Fahmi said the government welcomed it and that engagement should start with Deputy Prime Minister II Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof to proceed with the negotiations.
