Thursday December 17, 2009-THE STAR
Strengthening the efficacy of Parliament
COMMENT
By PROF SHAD SALEEM FARUQI
The institution of an elected legislature provides the keystone of our constitutional arch.
TO commemorate our Parliament’s 50th anniversary, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in cooperation with Universiti Sains Malaysia held a one-day seminar on Dec 6 on the theme of ‘Strengthening the Institution of Parliament’.
I was privileged to be one of the speakers and to have had the opportunity to point out that when the edifice of our Constitution was being constructed, the institution of an elected legislature provided the keystone of our constitutional arch.
In Malaysia’s constitutional theory, Parliament is supposed to perform the following primary functions:
> Be a chamber of the people by having representatives who are chosen by the electorate at a free and fair General Election. The Dewan Rakyat has performed this function after each of the 12 General Elections.
Our electoral system permits universal adult suffrage at age 21. Only those who register on the rolls are allowed to cast their vote.
In each constituency the winner is determined by a simple plurality, which means that the person with the largest vote obtains the seat.
There is no requirement that the winner must obtain more than 50% of the vote.
> To represent the states through the Dewan Negara (Senate). The Dewan Negara has two Senators from each of the 13 states.
In addition, there are 40 Senators appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister.
> To give legitimacy to the Government in the sense that the Prime Minister and his Cabinet are required to command the confidence of the members of the elected Dewan Rakyat.
> To exercise control over all legislative proposals.
> To control national finance by authorizing the raising and spending of money.
In England this role was historically of great significance because it contributed to the supremacy of Parliament over the previous prerogatives of the Crown. “No taxation without representation” became the battle-cry of democracy.
> To undertake scrutiny of the executive and to ensure answerability, accountability and responsibility of the political executive to the representatives of the people.
> To redress citizens’ grievances through constituency work.
> To control emergency powers by having the authority to annul an emergency proclamation or an emergency ordinance by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
> To approve electoral boundaries drawn up by the Election Commission.
> To grant or refuse permission to a State law to de-reserve a Malay Reservation.
> To exercise its parliamentary privileges.
In its earlier years, Parliament provided a considerable check to executive powers and many distinguished parliamentarians added lustre to the institution.
Since the early seventies, executive dominance has become very prominent.
In its core function of enacting laws, controlling national finance and checking the executive, Parliament’s role has become mere symbolic.
However, after the 2008 General Elections, the spirals of history are in motion again and reform of Parliament is on many lips.
Electoral system: To improve the representative character of Parliament, the voting age must be reduced to 18 and there should be automatic registration at the address found in one’s MyKad.
Sectoral representation of under-represented groups like women and orang asli must be considered.
There should be some guidelines on how to distinguish rural and urban constituencies and how much lesser a rural constituency can be from an urban one. At present disparities of 1:10 are known to exist.
The Senate: Under Article 45(4), it is contemplated that elected members for each state could be increased to three, appointed members could be decreased or abolished, and direct elections may be held. In order to strengthen the Senate these provisions need to be given life.
Bills: To lighten the load of the Dewan Rakyat, some politically non-controversial Bills could originate in the Dewan Negara. This will entail joint parliamentary sessions – something of a rarity today due to staff shortage. Government Bills are often shrouded in secrecy. MPs must be supplied with drafts of Bills at least two weeks before the beginning of the session in order to give them some chance of analysing Government Bills.
Support Structures: Each MP must be assigned research staff, legislative assistants and office space. The Houses should have their own legal counsel. NGOs must work with MPs to vet legislative proposals. In the manner of Ilkap & Intan, an Institute of Parliamentary Affairs must be established to train MPs.
Scrutiny of Bills: Though permitted by the Standing Orders, scrutiny of Bills by a Committee of Parliament after the second reading is rarely resorted to. In 52 years there are only about 10 occasions when Parliament appointed such Committees. They must be appointed more often.
Inquisitorial Committees: A system of well serviced investigatory committees holds the only key to enabling Parliament to become an effective check and balance institution. The present number of Sessional Select Committees should be increased to include:
> One Committee for each Ministry as with the UK Parliament.
> A Joint Committee on Human Rights to scrutinise Suhakam reports.
> A Joint Committee on Public Complaints that works closely with the Public Complaints Bureau (PCB).
> A Joint Committee on Subsidiary legislation.
Attendance of witnesses: Parliament should use its privilege jurisdiction to compel Ministers and civil servants to appear before committees and to supply information. Refer to the New South Wales case of Egan v Willis & Cahill (1996), where a Deputy Minister who refused to supply information was found guilty of contempt and suspended from the House.
Consultative Processes: Citizen participation in Select Committees should become a routine practice.
Private Member’s Bills: Financial assistance should be given to top 10 MPs on a ballot who wish to draft a Private Member’s Bill.
PAC: Jurisdiction of the Public Accounts Committee should be expanded to cover all Non-Financial Public Enterprises.
Question Time: The increase in question time from 60 to 90 minutes is commendable. But better procedures need to be evolved to satisfy MPs whose questions cannot be taken up due to shortage of time. Once a week the Prime Minister must face the House for thirty minutes.
Constituency Work: Aid and assistance ought to be given to every MP to pay for a Service Centre in his constituency.
PCB and Suhakam: There should be one Joint Parliamentary Committee each on the PCB and Suhakam.
Parliamentary calendar: The 80 or so sittings per year need to be drastically increased to about 160 a year to permit more business to be transacted.
With these reforms, the institutional efficacy of Parliament could be enhanced.
Prof Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi is Emeritus Professor at UiTM and Visiting Professor at USM.
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