‘No sittings past midnight’

EXCLUSIVE:KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof does not want Parliament sittings to go past midnight.

It is unnecessary, he said, pointing out that the august House was “a lawmaking institution and not a debating society”.

“Nothing beyond midnight,” Mohamad Ariff said, adding that reasonable hours to end a sitting would be 8.30pm or 9.30pm, and “if it is a pressing matter, 11pm”.

The Speaker said it was pointless to go overboard debating issues.

“I am talking about efficiency, speed and quality. Efficiency must go alongside quality.

.“We need to have more quality debates.

“This is a lawmaking institution, not a debating society,” he said in an interview with The Star.

Mohamad Ariff said having various select committees and even a “shadow Cabinet” could make proceedings more efficient.

Members of the select committees, whom he said would be experts, could then be invited to provide input on issues for the benefit of lawmakers who are not well versed in the subject.

“That is how it should be, unlike what we have been seeing so far where very few people take the trouble to look at the clauses of the Bills to improve on the law.”

A shadow Cabinet by the Opposition, he said, would also be a good move to help reduce parliamentary time and ensure better quality debates.

Mohamad Ariff said lawmakers are passionate in wanting to get their points across while debating, “however, some are repetitious”.

“That is why I strongly believe it is a good idea to have a ‘shadow Cabinet’ so at least as the Speaker, if a subject matter comes up, I don’t need to scout around the Chamber to see who should answer first.

“Immediately, the first debater would be from the Opposition shadow Cabinet member,” he said.

By doing so, Mohammad Ariff said the other lawmakers wanting to debate on the same subject would not have to repeat the points that had been raised.

Such a practice will “cut down Parliamentary time quite a bit,” he said when asked if Parliament will see long hours.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said that the Opposition would not have a “shadow Cabinet” to monitor the ruling Government.

Opposition MPs would instead be assigned portfolios to focus on specific subjects raised in the Dewan Rakyat, said Dr Ahmad Zahid.

Parliament generally sits from 10am to 5.30pm from Monday to Thursday with an hour and a half lunch break.

However, there have been instances when the Dewan Rakyat has sat beyond midnight.

On one occasion in April last year, the Dewan Rakyat ended after 5am, reportedly the longest ever sitting in the country, lasting almost 20 hours to allow the debate of five government Bills.-Star