The Malaysian Insight

A NEW initiative called “Ministry Day” will be launched in Dewan Rakyat in July to allow more ministers to answer questions from opposition lawmakers, deputy speaker Nga Kor Ming said.

This is part of parliamentary reforms under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government to improve Parliament’s efficiency and shed its “rubber stamp” image under speaker Mohd Ariff Md Yusof, since forming the federal government a year ago.

Nga said there are 28 ministries in the cabinet and ministers have to be present in Parliament at any one time to reply questions related to their ministries. It means long waits for the ministers and taking them away from getting other work done.

“According to past parliamentary practice, the ministers have to stay in Parliament for a long time (till late at night) as they need to be on hand to answer questions raised by MPs.

“Each time a minister attends, there’ll be many officers in tow because they need to be updated with the latest information. This is a very inefficient way of doing things, hence, our plans to introduce Ministry Days,” Nga told The Malaysian Insight in an interview in conjunction with PH’s one-year anniversary in federal power.

Ministry Day will see ministries clustered together to provide answers in the Dewan on certain days.

“For example, we can have the Finance, Defence and Education ministries for Monday, where the ministers will stay back and answer all related questions.

“Then from Tuesdays to Thursdays, those ministers need not be present in Parliament and can return to their constituencies or attend to other ministry work. When it’s their turn to answer in Parliament again, then they have to attend.”

Nga said a similar practice was implemented in the United Kingdom some years ago.

He said the Speaker’s Office is also streamlining the process of answering questions, with ministers to answer in person during their ministry’s question time, while deputies can be tasked with answering other related questions.

More days for Dewan Rakyat to meet

Making things more efficient will also allow Parliament to increase the number of days it sits, from the 51 days under Barisan Nasional, to 100, Nga said.

“Parliament under BN was like a rubber stamp. It followed whatever the government wanted to do.

“PH wants the separation of powers (between the executive and the legislature) to be reinforced, and we want to increase the number of sitting days from 51 to 100,” he said, adding that the number of sitting days this year has been increased to 68.

However, more days would also mean more expenditure, as more would be paid out in allowances for MPs to attend the sittings.

Other than Ministry Day, Parliament also plans to implement Prime Minister’s Time, where the prime minister has 30 minutes to address critical current issues. This will be broadcast by media outlets.

This is to increase transparency, Nga said, by having the head of government answer questions himself. It can also help combat fake news, he said.

“It is hoped that having a platform where hot button issues are addressed by the prime minister directly will protect the people’s right to know while preventing speculation.

“We want Parliament to get right down to the matters concerned and not waste time on political theatrics,” Nga, who is Teluk Intan MP and DAP deputy secretary-general.

Other measures in the works for parliamentary reform is reinstating the Parliamentary Services Act, which will grant the institution autonomy over its hiring and finances.

Nga said this will remove Parliament from the Prime Minister’s Department and make it an independent institution to better enforce check and balance between the judiciary, legislative and the executive.

He said the cabinet had already agreed to the reinstatement in principle, and papers have been submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

The reinstatement could be tabled in the July sitting of the Dewan Rakyat.

Other reforms made over the past one year since PH won federal power have included appointing a member of the opposition to head the Public Accounts Committee, increasing the efficiency of question time by allowing 15 questions instead of the previous eight in the allotted 90 minutes, better time management to prevent late-night sittings, and the formation of 15 bipartisan parliamentary select committees.

Another world first coming to Malaysia’s Parliament will be an unmanned 24-hour store, said Nga.

“There’ll be no cashiers and people will pay with their smartphones. This can make goods at the store 20% cheaper. If this is successful, it could be rolled out elsewhere in the country in convenience stores and make prices cheaper.” – May 10, 2019.