‘Speaker from opposition not impossible’

It is not impossible to have a Speaker from the opposition, says Labis MP Chua Tee Yong.

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PETALING JAYA: Having a Dewan Rakyat Speaker from the opposition is not impossible, said Labis MP Chua Tee Yong.

During a discussion in FMT’s Loose Talk between Chua and PKR’s Subang MP R Sivarasa at FMT’s office, the former said the idea could also be emulated at the state level.

“It is something that is not totally alien. It has to be emulated not just at the federal level but at the state level, too.

“There is no such thing as a one-party system anymore. It’s how to work together to ensure that the institution of Parliament is more effective,” he said.

Sivarasa agreed and said the independence of the Speaker was important.

“Indonesia, for example, has the main Speaker from the majority party and the other larger parties all have representation through the deputy speakers,” he said.

When asked on issues that are pertinent to be addressed in the current parliamentary session, Chua said the crime problem should be discussed further.

“We have to acknowledge that crime is a problem. I hope that the relevant ministries can outline to us what measures have been taken to resolve the root cause and whether a study has been done as to why there was a spike in crime.

“With regard to affordable housing, how does the government intend to work with all the state governments to look into this pressing problem?” he asked.

Meanwhile, Sivarasa said these issues had been raised before and would continue to be raised.

“The institution itself has to develop a better capacity to discuss this,” he said.