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Drama boleh: we are Malaysians |
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Posted by admin
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Thursday, 05 June 2008 09:39 |
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Will having a year-long session ease chaos innew Malaysian Parliament? JESSINTA TAN, TODAYonline
IT IS going to be "one hell of a Parliament with a bigger opposition" — Mr Nazri Aziz :said on the day he was made Cabinet Minister in charge of parliamentary affairs.
So, how "hellish" was the become during the recently-concluded 16-day sitting with a record 82 opposition law-makers versus 140 from the ruling BarisanNasional (BN) coalition in the DewanRakyat, or Lower House?
Malaysia's new Parliament — formed after the opposition denied BN its two-third majority and won control of five states in the March polls — got off to a chaotic start in late April.
Members of the emboldened opposition traded insults and engaged in shouting matches with BN law-makers during the first session of Parliament — even before the first order of the day, a 90-minute
question-and-answer segment, kicked off.
Several law-makers appeared to be playing up to the cameras when parts of the parliamentary proceedings were broadcast live onnational television to the Malaysian public for the first time.
Scenes, including the one that showed veteran Member of Parliament (MP) Karpal Singh calling Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek "Bigfoot" — and the latter responding by yelling "Big Monkey" — could well mirror the often-rambunctious Parliament sessions of India and Taiwan. All in all, it was quite a departure from the often-sedate proceedings in the Malaysian House.
Such heated exchanges resulting in wasted time could be among the factors that gave rise to a suggestion to allow the Dewan Rakyat to sit throughout the year instead of the current practice of meeting three times annually.
"Maybe we will have to change into a Westminster-style Parliament that sits for the whole year with holidays in between," Deputy Speaker Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar told the Malaysian media recently.
More MPs were taking their time to debate and pass the Bills in the new Dewan Rakyat, he said. It turns out that the debate of a few Bills had to be postponed because of time constraints.
"In the West, it is rare even for the Prime Minister or the minister to take 30 minutes to deliver his speech. Here, some MPsspoke for two days," Mr Wan Junaidi said, adding that he wished MPs would restrict themselves to just 15 minutes.
The just-ended parliamentary proceedings contained more barbs and antics not just because of the varied background of the MPs but also because many were highly vocal.
Perhaps, the inexperience of new law-makers — 99 of them — had led some to place greater importance in scoring political points than in raising substantial issues.
"What we really need to see is if the opposition alliance can work together to create a shadow Cabinet, which would provide a check and balance against the government," political analyst Azmi Sharom noted.
Fellow analyst Khoo Kay Peng said the proposal for the year-long Parliament came about not because new law-makers seemed inexperienced or overzealous in their conduct.
"It is due more to having a livelier and more active Parliament. There might be some attention-seekers among the MPs, but most are using their debate time well. But we want them to stay focused on major issues such as rising inflation, environmental degradation, economic competitiveness and crime rates," he said.
Just how feasible the proposal is depends on law-makers using the allocated time wisely, Mr Khoo said.
"It is good if the time can be used entirely to debate serious policy matters. If the time is going to be wasted on petty political bickering, immature antics and unparliamentary behaviour, then the proposal should be discarded. What we will get is extra comedy act," he added.
Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia said having more parliamentary sessions or extending the number of days would not solve anything if MPs did not exercise discipline when debating.
In one rowdy scene during the sitting, the Speaker had to take about 20 minutes to quell a situation before Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had the chance to answer the first question on how his government plans to boost consumer buying power and promote racial integration.
While some law-makers were domineering to the point of being viewed as "bullies", others seemed to relish making interjections and hounding ministers over the slightest slips and oversights.
Of course, there were those who presented solid arguments and sound suggestions. But Malaysians have come to expect plenty of drama in the House with the infusion of new blood.
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The Blogs 
). The Rakyat will know how capable these new "Ministers" will be, how will they take on issues. 
Finito lah