PETALING JAYA: A former federal minister has suggested that the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat brief MPs on etiquette before the start of every parliamentary session.
Umno Supreme Council member Abdul Rahman Dahlan said MPs should be reminded on how to behave appropriately in Parliament.
“The first thing the Speaker should do at the start of every session is to have a short course (for MPs) on etiquette, how to behave and what the rules are,” he said at a conference.
He said he had previously proposed the idea to former Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia, but for some reason it wasn’t taken up.
Rahman was speaking on a panel discussion titled “Speaker, Deputy Speakers, and Standing Orders” at the Conference on Necessary Pre-GE15 Reforms jointly organised by the Bar Council and electoral reform group Bersih.
He also said that ministers did not seem to make an effort to engage with opposition MPs to get their buy-in when presenting their bills to the Dewan Rakyat.
He said at the end of the day, it was important for MPs to know that not all political scores must be settled within the Dewan Rakyat.
The former minister said MPs go to the august house “as if they were going to war” and this was one of the reasons speakers had a tough time maintaining order on the floor.
“They don’t trust anyone, they don’t trust the government, the backbenchers, ministers, the speaker, and it is because of this mentality that we always have constant chaos during parliamentary sessions. That needs to be addressed,” he said.
“If you go to Parliament with blazing guns, no one will take you seriously.” - FMT
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