Form shadow cabinet, speaker tells opposition

PARLIAMENT Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia today urged the opposition to form a shadow cabinet to improve the level and efficiency of parliamentary debates.

Pandikar made the suggestion after Charles Santiago (DAP-Klang) expressed displeasure that the International Trade and Industries Ministry answering schedule for Budget 2014 committee stage was not followed according to a yellow schedule given to all MPs.

Santiago (left) was not present in Parliament when the ministry answered in the committee stage, which was done late yesterday without following the schedule, which lists that the ministry was due to answer this morning.

However, Pandikar said that it was "mandatory" for all MPs to be given a chance to debate matters related to particular ministries.
                    
He also said that the schedule was for general guidance alone and would not have to be followed as it is.

"This is not like the House of Commons, where they have a shadow cabinet. So certain MPs will debate on matters pertaining to certain ministries," Pandikar told the MPs.

"That is why I say form a shadow cabinet. That way MPs who are experts in certain areas will debate certain ministries specifically. Then, the quality of debates will increase," he added.

Earlier, Pandikar had rejected an emergency motion to discuss the de-listing of national paddy and rice company Bernas, which was raised by Gooi Hsiao Leong (PKR-Alor Setar).

Pandikar said that while the matter was important, it was not urgent and thus did not merit being debated.

The motion was also not allowed to be read out by Gooi today.

Gooi, in his motion, said that a discussion on the matter was urgent because by de-listing, Bernas was deviating from its original goals set by the government when it was oricatised in 1994.

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim previously said that the exercise, which went against his own promise that nearly half of the company shares should remain with farmer and fishermen organisations made while he was in government back in 1995, would benefit cronies and company owners more than the people.

He had claimed that more than 80 percent of the company's shares were now owned by government-linked tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al Bukhari.