Tan Sri Dato 'Johari bin Abdul (seated, middle) at the gathering Saturday. KT
Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives) of Malaysia Tan Sri Dato ‘Johari bin Abdul said Saturday that Cambodia is a country which is setting the pace for development, stability and peace in the region.
During a Hi-Tea reception with about 120 members of the Malaysian Diaspora in Cambodia Saturday, Tan Sri Dato ‘Johari, who arrived in Cambodia Thursday to observe today’s General Election said that there were many take-aways which Malaysia could learn from Cambodia in terms of elections, how they are conducted, the careful preparation and the transparency through inviting foreign observers.
“In Cambodia, people vote for the party. They thus know what they are getting in terms of party policies and its system of government through proportionate representation means costly by-elections are avoided in the event a member of parliament dies or has to leave office for whatever reasons.
“In Malaysia, before the passing of the anti-hopping law, MP’s could hop from one party to another, at times causing the collapse of the Government as seen from the period of instability from 2018 to 2022 when the country went through three prime ministers.
“We will never see this in Cambodia as MP’s can come and go but the seat stays with the ruling party and this is something which we can study and adopt, whatever applicable into the Malaysian political system,” the speaker said.
He added that he was all for a large pool of younger generation stepping into the political arena so that they can be groomed or could gain experience to be future leaders instead of just recycling old leaders and that Cambodia’s future cabinet is an example of this pool of young blood in politics.
During his five day visit, which will conclude with a courtesy call on His Majesty Norodom Sihamoni Monday, Tan Sri Johari said.
A week before the first session of the 15th Dewan Rakyat in Malaysia, he vacated his seat for Gurun in the Kedah State Legislative Assembly.
This was then followed by his nomination to the position of the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat by the Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim who created history by creating Open House at the Parliament to enable people to feel and experience the ambiance and environment of the Malaysian Parliament, thus providing the impetus for the creation of future leaders.
This is Tan Sri Dato ‘Johari’s second visit to Cambodia after his first in 2000.