Parliament Service Bill: Hamzah mocks Azalina's 'mother of all reforms'

 

Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin has mocked Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said for her statement that the Parliamentary Service Bill 2025 is the “mother of all reforms”.

During a weekly press conference in Parliament with Perikatan Nasional MPs today, he referred to Azalina’s speech on Tuesday during winding up debates of the royal address.

“I have seen the statement made by a minister. She said, ‘This is the start of a new era’. Wow! ‘Mother of all reforms.’ Wow!

“If this is the start of a new era... our future is doomed,” said the Bersatu deputy president.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said

The bill provides for the establishment of the Parliamentary Service and Parliamentary Service Council, allowing Parliament to manage its own administration - independent of the public service system.

The Parliament service provides Parliament with extra staff, including clerks for both the upper and lower houses. The staff will be appointed from the general public service and shall hold office until the age of compulsory retirement.

The Parliamentary Service Council will be chaired by the Dewan Negara president with the Dewan Rakyat speaker as co-chair, followed by the deputy presidents and deputy speakers.

Not that great?

Hamzah, however, dismissed the reforms as insignificant.

“I would like to inform you that the bill we read, it’s actually only about the staffing... You (Azalina) said that is the mother of all reforms?” he questioned.

Hamzah went on to claim he was informed by former Dewan Rakyat speaker Azhar Azizan Harun, who led the Lower House from July 13, 2020 to Dec 18, 2022, that a majority of Parliament staff had objected to the proposed changes.

Ex-Dewan Rakyat speaker Azhar Azizan Harun

“Azhar told me that when he met with the Parliament staff, discussed with them, 70 percent of them disagreed,” claimed the Larut MP, adding that concerns raised include impacts on staff career progression and benefits.

According to Section 17 of the bill, all members of the Parliamentary Service Council and committees will be deemed public servants, following the definition in the Penal Code. - Mkini