Abdullah Badawi had made it clear that he will be stepping down as Prime Minister in March 2009. He had also promised that he will be initiating some reforms that were sought after by the rakyat before he leaves office.
On 10 December, 6 Bills were tabled in the Dewan Rakyat out of which 2 were personally done so by Badawi, namely the Judicial Appointments Commission 2008 (JAC) Bill and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission 2008 (MACC) Bill. Given the significance of these 2 Bills alone, Parliament would normally have been given weeks, if not months, to debate the Bills before they were passed. Unfortunately this was not to be because, at the time, there were only 5 sitting days remaining of the parliamentary session for the rakyat to even try to do a fair job.
The rakyat felt that Badawi’s move to rush through these Bills in Parliament was an attempt by him to create and leave behind a legacy associated with his premiership. What made it worse and absurd in his hurry to make a name for himself was the fact that on 16 December – just 2 days before parliament ends for the session – the government tabled yet another Bill called the Witness Protection Bill 2008.
7 new Bills in total were hastily tabled but the two major ones that were pushed through during the last 5 days of the just-ended parliamentary session were the JAC and MACC. There were certainly a lot happening and much to chew on and the speed at which the Bills went through Parliament was, if I am not mistaken, a record of sort in the world.
In his haste to create a name that would have endeared him as the “Bapa of Reforms” with the rakyat, should Badawi have rushed through the ill thought-through, structured and debated Bills and foolishly used Parliament as a “rubberstamp” to pass them even though they were fraught with the potential to create more problems for the country in the years to come instead of solving them – and which, in the process, Badawi had also unwittingly hatched a rotten legacy for himself?
– Terjemahan oleh Lee Wee Tak – Ucapan ribuan terima kasih dari Wee Choo Keong –
Soalan Mingguan WR Anda ke-39
Abdullah Badawi telah membuat kenyataan terang bahawa beliau akan berhenti sebagai Perdana Menteri pada March 2009. Beliau berjanji akan memulakan perubahaan yang diingini rakyat sebelum beliau meninggalkan pejabat Perdana Menteri.
Pada 10 Disember, 6 Rang Undang-undang dibentangkan di Dewan Rakyat di mana 2 daripadanya dibentangkan oleh Badawi sendiri, iaitu Suruhanjaya Melantik Hakim 2008 (JAC) dan Suruhanjyua Anti-Rasuah 2008 (MACC). Memandangkan betapa pentingnya 2 Rang Undang-undang ini, Parlimen sepatutnya diberi masa berminggu-minggu, ataupun berbulan-bulan untuk membahaskan Rang Undang-undang ini sebelum diluluskan. Malangnya keadaan ini tidak berlaku kerana hanya tinggal 5 hari sahaja untuk parlimen bersidang dan memberi peluang kepada para wakil rakyat untuk cuba membuat kerja mereka sedaya upaya agar tidak menghampakan rakyat.
Para rakyat rasa tindakan Badawi menggesakan kedua Rang Undang-undang diluluskan di Parlimen adalah suatu percubaan meninggalkan suatu warisan pentadbirannya. Apa yang memburukkan dan memperbodohkan keadaan adalah apa yang berlaku pada 16 Disember – 2 hari sebelum sidang parlimen berakhir – iaitu pentadbirannya membentangkan lagi satu Rang Undang-undang bertajuk Rang Perlindungan Saksi 2008.
Sejumlah 7 Rang Undang-undang baru telah dibentangkan secara tergesa-gesa tetapi 2 Akta yang penting, iaitu JAC dan MACC, telah dibentangkan dan diluluskan secara melulu pada 5 hari sidang parlimen yang akhir. Banyak yang boleh kita renungi dan jika tidak silap saya, kadar kelulusan kedua Rang ini adalah rekod dunia di mana ianya adalah tempoh paling singkat di mana Rang Undang-undang menjadi Akta.
Dalam tindakannya yang tergesa-gesa demi mencipta namanya sebagai “Bapa Reformis” di kalangan rakyat, di mana Badawi telah memaksa kelulusan Rang Undang-undangnya yang sebenarnya kurang prihatin semasa penggubalan, lemah dari segi pendekatan, kurang dibahaskan, dan dengan bodohnya memperlikan kemuliaan Dewan Rakyat sebagai tapak kelulusan tanpa soal (”rubber stamp”) untuk meluluskan Rang-rang ini walaupun mereka sarat dengan kemungkinan menimbulkan lebih banyak masalah pada masa hadapan dan bukan menyelesaikan masalah, sebenarnya Badawi tanpa sedar telah meninggalkan suatu warisan nama buruk untuk namanya sendiri?
