The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Federal Government and Pakatan Harapan: What’s in it and its impact on the Malaysians | UMSU Press

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Transformation and Political Stability was signed by the federal government and Pakatan Harapan (PH). The government of Malaysia was represented by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob while PH was represented by Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Guan Eng, and Mohamad Sabu. The duration of the MOU is from Sept 13 this year until the dissolution of the 14th session of Parliament. Both parties agreed to fully publish this MoU to the public as part of their commitment to openness and accountability.

The MoU strived to put an end to excessive politicking for the sake of the country's and people's welfare. It would form strong bipartisan cooperation based on the spirit of the Malaysian Family, which emphasizes unity, agreement and togetherness.Through bipartisan cooperation, this MoU aimed to restore political stability of the country in order to deal with the hectic Covid-19 pandemic and aid in the country’s economic recovery. Both parties shall place close attention and importance on the changing political environment through governance transformation and reform efforts, with  particular emphasis on enhancing the role of parliamentary institutions.  

The administration has agreed not to seek the dissolution of Parliament before July 31, 2022. It also commits to start on a transformation programme that the parties would design and mutually agreed upon.

The coalition of Pakatan Harapan agreed the obligations that in reciprocal consideration to the proposal and implementation of the transformation programme and subject always to the implementation of the transformation programme at such material time:

1. Both parties will give support to, refrain and abstain (as the case may be) to vote for the Budget 2022, supply and finance bills upon such bills being tabled, discussed and agreed to mutually.
   
2. Both parties will support or abstain in any process that involves a government motion or bill which if such support or refraining to support a motion is construable to be a vote of no confidence in the government.​
   

It is the basic term that any failure to undertake the transformation programme will be considered a breach of the MoU and may result in the termination of the MoU.

Below are the six-points of MoU which includes the empowerment of the Covid-19 plan, transformation of the administration, parliamentary reforms, independence of the judicial institution, Malaysia Agreement 1963, and the formation of steering committees:

• On the empowerment of the Covid-19 plan agenda, the National Recovery Council was agreed to be made up of half public and half private sector professionals nominated by the government as advisors, with the opposition also eligible to submit names. Both parties also agreed to continue the effort of giving cash assistance to those in the B40 and M40 groups next year, in order to expedite the buying of an additional six million doses of vaccines for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme, and to work on a three-month interest-free period for recipients of bank loan moratoriums in the fourth quarter of this year.
• On transformation of the administration, both parties agreed that the Election Commision speed up the implementation of the 18-year-old voter registration age, Anti-Party Hopping Bill and/or relevant law be proposed and passed in Parliament and a constitutional amendment to restrict the prime minister's term to ten years be tabled and passed in Parliament.
• Under parliamentary reforms, after discussions, participation, and agreement between the Speakers of both houses, both parties agreed that the Parliamentary Service Act be tabled and approved. It was also agreed to reform the existing Select Committee and create new Parliamentary Select Committees if needed, as well as to guarantee that the committees have a fair proportion of government and opposition MPs. 
• Under the judicial independence agenda, both parties agreed to make sure that the good governance, independence of the judiciary, and institutional transformation are always applied. 
• On the Malaysia Agreement 1963 agenda, the government and Pakatan Harapan agreed to increase efforts to implement the matters established in the MA63 agreement and relevant materials.
• Under the formation of a steering committee agenda, it was agreed that the steering committee members would be made up of ten people, with five representatives from the administration and five from the opposition, and that the group would meet once every two weeks or according to a timetable agreed upon by both sides.

The government is confident that this MoU will not only be able to set all political differences aside but also be able to ensure that the country's recovery runs holistically and inclusively. Political stability will contribute to a more stable and conducive environment for the development of the country's investment sector, capital market and economy. 
At the same time, the Finance Ministry (MoF) is confident that the MoU signed will continue to support economic recovery and the GDP growth projection of between 3.0 percent and 4.0 percent for this year. 
Also, the Cabinet had approved a proposal to amend the Temporary Measures for Government Financing (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Act 2020. Government will increase the ceiling cap for the COVID-19 Fund if necessary to continue supporting the people and businesses that are in need. This includes raising the ceiling for the COVID-19 Fund from RM65 billion to RM110 billion and increasing the government's statutory debt ceiling from 60 percent to 65 percent of the GDP. Overall, the implementation of stimulus packages, the reopening of economic sectors and Malaysia's diversified economic structure have successfully resulted in the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 16.1 percent in Q2 2021.
The MoU also aimed to strengthen the public health system, especially in curbing the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic and treating the COVID-19 patients; improving direct cash assistance to the people; and supporting business continuity, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and micro SMEs.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has instructed banking institutions to work towards waiving the interest payments for loan moratorium recipients immediately in order to involve moratorium recipients from the bottom 50 percent of Malaysia's population for a period of three months in Q4 2021.

For Budget 2022, the MoF will continue to accelerate the nation's economic recovery by drafting policies that are both business and investment-friendly, as well as strengthening the country's resiliency. The Budget will also implement several restructuring aspects that will support the objectives of the 12th Malaysia Plan in driving more sustainable, sustainable and competitive growth.

Compiled References:
https://linkmix.co/6416031
Written by Secretariat of Current Affairs 2021

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