Encourage Private Member’s Bills, says constitutional expert

 

There is no record of any Private Member’s Bill being passed by the Dewan Rakyat, according to Shad Saleem Faruqi.

PETALING JAYA: Private Member’s Bills should be encouraged as they may enable the government to avoid paying a political price if the Bill is opposed by the public, says a constitutional expert.

Constitutional law professor Shad Saleem Faruqi pointed out there is not a single record of a Private Member’s Bill being passed in Parliament, adding that the percentage is around 20% in the United Kingdom (UK). He said private members are MPs who are not ministers.

“If the Bill is controversial and the government is worried about losing support, let a private MP sponsor it. He will get the blame, or he will get the credit.

“I know that in the UK, they wanted to abolish homosexuality and prostitution as a criminal offence in 1957. They wanted to de-legalise it, but it’s controversial – morally speaking and religiously speaking.

“So what they did was they allowed a private MP to introduce it. The Bill got passed, so the government didn’t get the blame.”

Speaking at a webinar titled “To Legitimate or Legislate: The Continuing Parliament Dilemma”, Shad Saleem said other benefits of allowing private MPs to pass Bills include enhancing the role of backbenchers and involving participation by NGOs to reflect the “democratic impulses of society”.

Last week, former deputy Dewan Rakyat speaker Azalina Othman Said submitted a notice of her motion for a Private Member’s Bill to provide for recall elections.

In a statement, the Pengerang MP said she hoped the motion would be the ‘starting point’ to introduce recall elections during the upcoming Parliamentary sitting next week.

Among other proposed parliamentary reforms Shad Saleem mooted included lifting the secrecy surrounding Bills, stating that copies of Bills should not be embargoed and covered by the Official Secrets Act.

He added that draft copies of Bills must be supplied to all MPs at least two weeks before the first reading to enable them to study the provisions and seek independent advice.

“Embargoed… I don’t understand that,” he said.

“Why should they (Bills) be under the OSA? After all, they will (eventually) be made known.” - FMT