Parliamentary reform agenda needs to be clearer, says SCPP

SHAH ALAM - A Parliamentary pressure group has urged Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Johari Abdul to chart a clear plan on the Parliamentary reforms. The Seed Community for a Professional Parliament (SCPP), in a statement today, said the plans should detail the establishment of new select committees, their numbers and membership, including The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which will monitor all ministries led by the Prime Minister since the formation of the Cabinet more than two months after the 15th General Election (GE15).

It also suggested that the government introduced a parliamentary select committee (PSC) for Budget and Finance separately to review other financial affairs which were not included under PAC monitoring.

For PSCs based on ministries and important themes such as Internal Affairs, Education, Health, Environment, Defense and Foreign Affairs, Elections and Multi-Party Democracy, Human Rights, their establishment should be permanent.

The above should also be listed in The Rules of Meeting so that they will remain in existence at all times with only their membership changed after each general election.

"This continuity will maintain the effectiveness and monitoring of the PSC itself," it said.

The group also suggested the Speaker encourage the optimum establishment of the Malaysian Parliamentary Cross-Party Group (KRPPM) which was done previously and has succeeded in bridging the gap in group involvement of civil society organisation (CSO) and the public in the policy making process in the Parliament.

"For instance, KRPPM Parliament Reform must be established immediately to study and propose all forms of improvement needed by the Parliament for the short, medium and long term," the group stated.

"This effort will can help Parliament determine a clear direction in reforming Parliament of the era of Madani Malaysia," it added.

The group also called for the current coalition to continue to be a strategic partner of the Parliament as a continuation of efforts to empower the Malaysian Parliament.

"It was also emphasised that this effort is in line with the concept of Madani Malaysia which was initiated by the Prime Minister and the enthusiasm shown by the Speaker himself to restore Malaysia's dignity as a glorious first-class parliamentary democracy on the global stage," it concluded.

Yesterday, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Johari Abdul proposed the re-enactment of the Parliamentary Services Act and upgrading of the parliamentary select committee to empower Parliament as the main key agenda for reform.

He said he had had met with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim alongside Dewan Negara President Tan Sri Dr Rais Yatim to discuss the proposed law.

"The PM is supportive of this and the draft (of the Bill) has been sent to the Attorney General's Chambers, and will subsequently be sent to the Prime Minister's Department for fine-tuning in all aspects, including finance, legislation and so on," he said.

The Parliamentary Services Act was first enacted in 1963, a few months before the formation of Malaysia.

The act allowed Parliament to serve as a truly independent body, running its own affairs, selecting its staff and controlling its expenditure.

However, it was revoked in 1992.