'Allow rakyat to elect senators within five to 10 years'

Pakatan Harapan senator Mohd Nor Monutty today proposed that senators be elected by the rakyat as part of a long-term effort to reform the Dewan Negara.

He proposed that the election for senators be conducted within five to 10 years.

This, he told Malaysiakini, would allow the rakyat to participate in the democratic process and allow them to choose the best candidates to represent them in the upper house.

He urged the government to study the proposal during the five years of its administration.

"The Senate election is held in countries such as US and Australia. We can see how effective their upper house serves as a check-and-balance mechanism," he said.

In mooting a motion on a royal decree at the Dewan Negara earlier today, Nor urged the government to also form a committee to appoint senators for the time being.

"The committee would comprise the prime minister, Dewan Negara president and senators. It would assess (the performance) of the senators to ensure they comply with the standard," he said, adding that they can also be appointed in parliamentary committees.

Nor also pointed out that the maximum two-term, six-year senator tenure was too short, and thus urged the government to expand the first term of the senatorship to five years instead from the present two.

He also called for a hike in senator's allowances to be on par with their counterparts in the Dewan Rakyat as they have the similar workloads. 

Currently, parliamentarians receive an RM16,000 monthly allowance, while senators receive RM11,000. - Mkini