KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) supreme council member Wan Saiful Wan Jan has welcomed the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections’ (Bersih 2.0) call for the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system in electing parliamentarians and state lawmakers to be reviewed.
Wan Saiful, in a statement today, said the existing FPTP system did not create healthy competition if there were more than two parties.
“In fact, small parties may not be able to compete directly.
“This is why in Malaysia political parties are forced to form a coalition, because there are many challenges if they contest alone.”
Wan Saiful, who is also Bersatu Perlis secretary, said looking at Malaysia’s political system, a system based on Proportional Representation (PR) was more suitable.
“The system allows small parties to have a fair chance without having to join anyone and subsequently ensures that the minority voices are heard in the election,” he said in a statement.
Wan Saiful said he hoped to forward Bersih 2.0’s view to the respective committee in the government.
Today, Bersih 2.0 called for a wider debate on both the FPTP electoral system and the top-down and opaque candidacy selection process.
The coalition said it was high time for Malaysians to consider, and PKR candidate for the by-election Anwar Ibrahim to take a stand, whether to continue having all parliamentarians and state lawmakers elected through the FPTP system, or to move to some mixed member systems with some lawmakers elected through Party List Proportional Representation (List-PR).