MP proposes Parliament sit for 180 days as clock ticks for Ismail's govt

 

Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin has proposed that Parliament sit for 180 days in a year in order to have enough time to push through the reforms proposed by de facto Law Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

He noted that with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's government coming to power at the tail end of the term, there is little time left to push for the reforms.

Parliament is expected to expire in July 2023 which means there are less than 22 months left to the current government's tenure.

"It is unlikely the laws can be passed within that short period of time.

"I call upon the minister and both the speaker (and president) of the Parliament to immediately increase the Parliament sitting days," Sim (above) said in a statement.

Wan Junaidi had proposed the introduction of a Parliament Services Act to grant the legislature more autonomy as well as a new Parliament Act to replace the dated House of Parliament Privileges and Power Act.

Sim welcomed the initiative and urged bipartisan involvement in the drafting of the new laws.

However, he noted that Malaysia's Parliament is among those that sit the fewest days in Westminster systems.

"On average Malaysia's lower house sits only 68 days a year and the upper house sits 26 days only a year. This year Dewan Rakyat will sit only 51 days if there are no more sudden closures.

"For other commonwealth countries their typical Parliament sitting days range from 160 to 200 days.

"I would like to call upon the minister to immediately increase Dewan Rakyat sitting to 120 days and Dewan Negara sitting to 60 days," he added.

De facto Law Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar

Sim said the parliamentary reform efforts will also require political commitment.

"These reforms might never see the light of the day if there are no strong political wills.

"Perikatan Nasional 2.0 government is fractious and unstable. Wan Junaidi might have the conviction to reform, but he may not get the support of his coalition partners," he said.

Wan Junaidi served as the Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker from 2008 to 2013, which makes him a suitable candidate to implement parliamentary reforms.

However, it remains to be seen if the Ismail Sabri government is committed to the cause.

The reforms have been touted as possible concessions for a supply and confidence deal with the opposition but a series of missteps is now making the opposition think twice. 

Among them include the government's refusal to undergo a confidence vote despite a request by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.  - Mkini