Recent sittings in the Dewan Rakyat have ended as late as 4.25am as lawmakers debate the tabling and amending of bills. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, April 17, 2015.Members on both sides of the political divide are in agreement with a proposal for a parliamentary select committee to study contentious amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) that were deferred in the last parliamentary sitting.
Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Mokhtar (pic), who was one of several Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmakers who had strongly objected to the changes, said he was keen on the idea of a select committee as recently proposed by DAP's M. Kula Segaran.
"Yes, the proposal from the Ipoh Barat MP could have come as a result of my objection to the amendments in the Dewan Rakyat... when I had stressed that the CPC amendments have to be made right," Bung told The Malaysian Insider.
"I do not have problems accepting it," he said of the proposal for a bipartisan committee.
Kula Segaran, in a statement on Tuesday, urged Putrajaya to set up a bipartisan parliamentary committee to study the CPC amendments that were deferred after MPs from both the ruling coalition and the opposition said they were too draconian during the parliamentary sitting last week.
The Ipoh Barat MP also said there was a need to establish a law commission to formulate laws, instead of leaving this task solely to the Attorney-General's Chambers.
"DAP welcomes the decision to withdraw the bill. Presently the Attorney-General’s Chambers through the parliamentary drafting committee formulates all laws in our country, thus the need to establish a law commission to formulate laws must be looked into and done the soonest possible," he had said.
Bung had said during the lawmakers' debate on the bill that he could not accept the amendments as they had elements of persecution.
"This cannot happen... We, the lawmakers, are not comfortable with the act," he had said.
Even federal minister Nancy Shukri (pic, right) said the current system was inefficient and caused difficulties for lawmakers.
She said a parliamentary select committee and law reform commission were necessary to facilitate the finalising of bills.
"It is unfair for the parliamentarians to be stuck in the Dewan Rakyat until 2, 3 or 4am for three days in a row. This is an unhealthy process," she said.
"Many countries like the United Kingdom and Australia have been practising this system, where a bill will be fine tuned by the committee before it is brought to Parliament for debate and approval," she added.
In his statement, Kula Segaran (pic, left) had suggested that Bung be made the chairman of the proposed select committee because of his opposition to the amendments.
However, Bung in response said the role would be better held by an MP with a law background.
"This will make it easier to study the amendments."
"I would also like to suggest that a special parliamentary committee be formed to study and discuss any bill or amendments before it is tabled so that in the future, such bills do not bring any problems during debate," he said.
PKR's N. Surendran (Padang Serai MP) agreed, urging Putrajaya to ensure that all important and technical bills were vetted through a select committee before being tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.
“This is the proper thing to do. Particularly so since this bill (CPC) makes wide-ranging changes to the criminal justice system.”
PAS lawmaker Hanipa Maidin said the setting up of a parliamentary select committee was even more important now as many significant and controversial legislations were being pushed through without proper discussion.
"All bills should be studied by this committee. It has to comprise of politicians from both sides of the divide.
"We have seen many laws being passed in Parliament without being discussed properly. Normally, MPs are given very short notice of the bill and there is no time to look through it," the Sepang MP (pic, left) said.
The previous meeting of the Dewan Rakyat ended on April 10, with 12 bills comprising six new bills and six amendment bills approved.
But Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers accused Putrajaya of trying to bulldoze through several controversial bills by having long sittings, which ended as late as 4.25am.
On April 6, Putrajaya stopped the clock at 2.25am to push through the contentious Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota).
Three days later, Dewan Rakyat passed amendments to the Sedition Act at 2.30am, after more than 12 hours of heated debate.
Hanipa added that the short notice period was unfair to parliamentarians, especially to lawmakers who were not legally trained.
"Not all can immediately understand. If we have more time to look it over, then we can ensure that all understand the law and its impact.
"If we have a special committee with those who are legally trained, it would be even better. It is high time that the government does this (set up parliamentary select committees) just like they do in developed countries like Australia," he said.
With support from both BN and PR lawmakers, the question now is how to make such a bipartisan committee a reality.
Lawmakers have in the past acknowledged that Malaysia's system of tabling bills, which are always initiated by the government, is problematic due to the lack of consultation with stakeholder and lack of early notice given to MPs to study them and prepare for debates.
The committee system is widely adopted in the parliaments of other Commonwealth countries, where both ruling and opposition MPs study bills together, but it has not taken off in Malaysia.
Surendran said the change had to come from the executive, which controls the federal legislature.
"The government must institute changes in parliamentary procedures to ensure that all important and technical bills go to a select committee," he said.
- TMI
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