It is premature to talk about the provision to bar MPs who have been charged in court from attending Parliament, according to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Parliament) Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
This comes as the Santubong MP came under the spotlight after revealing that this was among the proposed provisions in the government's effort to amend the House of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952.
Wan Junaidi said he brought up the provision barring MPs charged in court from attending activities in the House, in his statement dated June 3, merely to seek public input on the draft amendment bill.
"Now, I have received a lot of feedback. Some agreed to it while others disagreed. Some even condemned it," he told Malaysiakini.
"I am saying it is a little bit too premature to talk about the provision to prohibit MPs from entering the Parliament (as no decision has been made on it)."
Last Friday, Wan Junaidi said the cabinet agreed, in principle, on three matters, including amending the House of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952 under the proposed parliamentary reform.
Other matters discussed in the cabinet meeting last Wednesday were the formulation of the Parliamentary Services Act and the drafting of the Code of Ethics for MPs.
The House of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act concerns the powers and privileges of the House of Parliament, the freedom to speak and debate in House proceedings, and the protection of people hired for the service of broadcasting papers of the House.
On June 4, Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan took to social media, calling the provision barring MPs who are charged in court from attending activities "persecution".
"Do not add persecution to those who may be suffering from oppression," Ahmad tweeted.
"The provision violates the basic principle of 'innocent until proven guilty' and 'proving beyond reasonable doubt'," he said.
In another development, Wan Junaidi, when asked about the progress of the constitutional amendment to limit the prime minister's tenure, he said the bill is ready to be tabled.
However, he said, they were not given the mandate to work on the constitutional amendment involving the prime minister's tenure as they focused on other reforms according to a motion passed in Parliament on the anti-party hopping law.
"The motion passed in Parliament was for the special select committee to concentrate on the anti-hopping law. It does not include the plan to limit the prime minister's term to 10 years. So I cannot go beyond what is already agreed by the Parliament.
"However, the draft is ready. If the government wants it, we can table two bills (on anti-hopping and the PM's tenure) together, in July.
"It is up to the people involved in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on political stability to raise up the issue to the prime minister again," Wan Junaidi added.
The term of office for the prime minister was among the slew of governance reforms initiated by the Pakatan Harapan government. The bill was tabled in December 2019.
The Harapan government sought to amend Clause 2(a) of Article 43 of the Federal Constitution to ensure that a prime minister could not serve for more than two terms of Parliament.
In August 2020, the Perikatan Nasional government withdrew a bill to amend the Federal Constitution, in order to set a two-term limit for the prime minister's post. - Mkini
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