Lawmakers want straight answers

 

To the point: (From left) Dr Wee, Hassan and Sng.

MPs voice frustration with generic or vague responses from ministries

PETALING JAYA: With Parliament set to reconvene in a week’s time, MPs across the aisle have voiced the need for better quality answers to their questions.

They claimed that there is a growing number of responses that are generic, vague or fail to address the questions directly.

“Of late, this has become – you ask A, they answer B,” said Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, who is currently serving his fifth term as Ayer Hitam MP.

“The answer should be short, straight to the point. No motherhood statements, no ‘sentiasa berbincang’ (discussions are ongoing). All these statements don’t serve anything.

“The integrity, the accountability, the data given to Parliament must be very accurate,” he said.

On a reply on Jan 28 by the Finance Ministry, Dr Wee had asked about the refund arrears over the past two years, the age breakdowns of those still owing arrears and a mechanism to prevent new arrears.

The ministry gave the total refund figure paid to 3.6 million taxpayers last year, but stopped short at the age breakdown and outstanding amount owed by the people involved, which was asked by Dr Wee.

“Many issues that I’ve asked, there was no answer and it is disappointing,” he said.

The Star’s analysis of the first 2026 meeting from Jan 19 to March 3 found that at least one in nine written replies – 157 out of 1,354 – had such responses that were flagged by MPs.

These flagged written replies had used deferral language, offered only generic commitments with no specifics, or fell back on procedural grounds, raising concerns over transparency and accountability.

Major policy issues drew such replies repeatedly.

On the US Reciprocal Tariff Agreement, three MPs from three parties received the same reply – a reference to an ongoing “cost-benefit analysis”.

Redelineation was raised nine times over five days by MPs from PKR, DAP, Bersatu and PAS.

Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim was disappointed that his Jan 29 question on when the Election Commission would carry out its redelineation exercise remained unanswered.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Laws and Institutional Reforms) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, in response to Hassan’s question, said that redelineation could take place after eight years from the previous exercise and after changes in the number of Dewan Rakyat or state assembly seats.

“I felt that the answer was prepared by an officer and not by the minister. I feel frustrated and humiliated to receive such a shallow answer which is not suitable for parliamentary standards,” said Hassan.

Julau MP and Parti Bangsa Malaysia president Datuk Larry Sng cited a Feb 26 question to the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry seeking an update on Malaysia-US negotiations over furniture and wood-product tariffs.

Instead of providing updates, the ministry gave furniture export figures and stated that the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) had yet to be finalised and that the government is still assessing its implications.

Sng described the reply as evasive, adding that generic or repeatedly deferred replies limited Parliament’s ability to scrutinise the executive.

“Where matters are still under review, ministries should provide timelines, milestones or expected completion dates,” he said.

MPs ask questions not only to obtain statistics, Sng said, but to understand policy direction and implementation challenges. - Star