'Hybrid' Parliament complicated, committee aims to wrap up before July 26

 

There are many complicated hurdles ahead for the special committee that has been set up to facilitate Parliament sittings in a "hybrid" style which involves both in-person and online attendance.

Speaking to Malaysiakini after the committee's maiden meeting on Monday, Dewan Negara president Rais Yatim explained that the Standing Orders - the Parliament rule book - will have to be amended.

The special committee's proposal will then be scrutinised by the bipartisan House Committee and Standing Orders Committee. Finally, the MPs will have to agree to these changes by voting on a motion to amend the Standing Orders.

Among other key challenges, said Rais, is to design ways for the speaker to regulate the conduct of MPs and the executive participating in the Parliamentary sittings remotely.

"The speaker must be given the power to intervene, warn the MPs or take action against the lawmakers," he said.

He said the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Power) Act 1952 may also need to be amended. Among others, this powerful legislation affords MPs freedom of speech with legal immunity when speaking during parliamentary proceedings.

With little under three weeks before Parliament reconvenes, Rais said that the committee's work was "35 percent to 40 percent" complete and it was "full throttle" from here onwards.

"We are very happy that the government has confirmed the sitting date. It is a litmus test for our democracy... (the special committee) is in full swing," he said.

'Debate all stimulus packages'

The special committee comprises the Dewan Rakyat speaker, the two Dewan Rakyat deputy speakers, the Dewan Negara president, the Dewan Negara deputy president and Parliament's chief administrator.

Additionally, the opposition has two representatives - Nga Kor Ming (Teluk Intan) representing the Pakatan Harapan bloc and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muar) representing the independent bloc.

Former Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Nga Kor Ming

Nga told Malaysiakini that the meeting concluded that the "hybrid" system should be ready by mid-August.

Nga, a former Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker, said he had suggested to the committee that MPs would still have to obtain leave from the speaker if they could not participate in proceedings, even remotely.

"An MP shouldn't be allowed to pretend he or she is participating when they are actually not," he said.

Nga said he also proposed that the committee ensures that all stimulus packages introduced since March 2020 be debated.

On Monday, Putrajaya finally relented to pressure, including from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, to reconvene Parliament before the emergency expires on Aug 1.

The main agenda, according to the Prime Minister's Office, is to explain the National Recovery Plan to the MPs and change the rules of Parliament to allow a "hybrid" sitting.

A secondary agenda is to ensure that the proclamation of emergency and emergency ordinances are "laid before" both Houses of Parliament. - Mkini