Azhar backs setting a fixed parliamentary term

 

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Harun said having an exact date for the dissolution of Parliament would enable early preparations to be made. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Harun has supported proposals for a fixed parliamentary term to be set, saying this is practical and beneficial to the nation.

Azhar said a fixed parliamentary term would help the Election Commission (EC) save costs in preparing and holding elections.

Azhar, a former EC chief, also said having an exact date for the dissolution of Parliament would let the commission make early preparations for a general election, such as booking halls.

“We would be able to start identifying the schools which would be used as polling stations, rent or book premises, train our workers and buy the necessary supplies.

“If we start the training too early, they (the workers) will forget what they have been taught, and then they will need to go through training again,” he told reporters at an event in the Parliament building here.

Azhar also said holding a snap election would be tedious for the EC, citing one occasion when the commission had to compensate a couple for a hall they had initially booked for their wedding. - FMT