WITH the recent political upheaval and manoeuvring for position among Members of Parliament (MPs), it is high time Malaysians set up a means to monitor how they carry out their duties as representatives of the rakyat. We do not want to vote the wrong person into the job and be stuck with him or her for the next five years.
In most large companies, every employee has to undergo an annual performance review. The main purpose is to provide feedback on areas where improvement is needed and to note achievements.
Likewise, a performance scorecard should be introduced for all MPs. It should be transparent and monitored by an independently funded NGO.
Among the key performance indicators I propose are:
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l Participation in Parliament – attendance and how active each MP is during debates and the questions they manage to ask and answer.
l Allocation and expenditure on development projects in each constituency – There should be tracking of the completion of each project budgeted for.
l Accessibility to constituents – This reflects the number of different ways citizens can contact or hear from their MPs. This includes a postal address, email, mobile phone number, a website, Facebook and Twitter.
I believe this is an important measure because as elected representatives MPs must make themselves available to the people who elected them.
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l Addressing and solving constituents’ problems – Constituents should be able to report a problem via an online portal and track the solution’s progress.
l Engagement with constituents – It is only through active engagement with their constituents that MPs can understand what the rakyat’s issues are and take steps to improve our lives.
Most Malaysians have short memories. It is best we track the performance of every MP right from the day he or she is elected so that we can make a wise choice when the next election comes around. We want to select the best MPs based on track records and sincere contributions as a wakil rakyat (people’s representative).
Only by having high calibre MPs who are consistent in their deliverables can the country continue to grow and the people live in peace and prosperity.