14 days a year not enough for Sabah state assembly, says DAP rep

 

Having just 14 days a year does not allow for many important issues and other matters affecting constituencies to be discussed, says Phoong Jin Zhe. (Bernama pic)

KOTA KINABALU: An opposition assemblyman has suggested that the state legislative assembly sit for a minimum of 30 days a year.

Phoong Jin Zhe (PH-Luyang) said lawmakers in countries like Australia and Canada normally convene at least 40 to 50 days a year but the Sabah state assembly meets less than 14 days annually.

“This is of course not sufficient time for us to talk about so many important issues, not to mention the problems affecting our respective constituencies,” he said while debating the Sabah governor’s policy speech today.

Phoong added that all assemblymen could sufficiently address more issues if the number of days were increased.

“Only then can we convince the people that this august house can actually resolve their problems and fight for their future,” he said.

The current Sabah state assembly session, which was opened last Wednesday, sits from Monday to Thursday this week.

Last week, Shafie Apdal (Warisan-Senallang) had also asked for more time to speak in the state assembly. The Warisan president and former chief minister said assemblymen were given about five minutes to speak while he, as the state opposition leader, was afforded 20 minutes.

Phoong, who is also Sabah DAP secretary, added his support to a call by the opposition that the state assembly must convene a special sitting to discuss pursuing state rights as enshrined under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

He said such avenues were important platforms for the Sabah government and opposition representatives to iron out and reach a consensus on which issues they should prioritise.

Phoong named the 40% of net revenue derived from Sabah by Putrajaya, state rights over petroleum products, and other autonomy powers that should be returned to the state, as some of the issues that needed urgent attention.

“It is time for us to reach an agreement. Whether we are sitting on the government or opposition bench, we must empower this august house so vital matters can be discussed and resolved effectively.

“As practised in many democratic countries, we must form many more select committees in our state assembly to discuss Sabah rights.

“With such bipartisan committees, we can look for consensus in order to address critical matters including the undocumented migrants and the foreigner’s card issues, among others,” Phoong said. - FMT