KUALA LUMPUR – There must be fairer opposition representation in existing parliamentary special select committees (PSSC), Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen said in a letter to the Dewan Rakyat.
In a formal letter submitted to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun dated September 7, the DAP lawmaker said the composition of some of the committees is not reflective of the number of MPs in the lower House.
Yii took the PSSC for health, science, and innovation he chairs as an example, saying he is the sole Pakatan Harapan representative in it even though the coalition makes up 41.6% of the Dewan Rakyat.
The other members of the committee are currently from Barisan Nasional (two), Perikatan Nasional (one), and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (one), with one independent. This is excluding Sipitang MP Yamani Hafez Musa of Bersatu, who was recently appointed deputy finance minister II.
With Yamani no longer part of the committee, Yii said the speaker should use this as an opportunity to correct the proportion of members.
“I would like to suggest that the number of members in the PSSC for health, science, and innovation be updated, in line with Standing Order 82(1) of the Dewan Rakyat.”
The provision states that in “every select committee...so far as is practicable, the balance between the parties within the House is reflected in the committee”.
In a separate statement issued today, Yii urged for immediate action to increase the number of members in other PSSCs as well, to properly reflect the balance and proportion of each party within the House.
Other than PH’s 41.6%, PN has the second largest representation with 23.4%, followed by BN (19.6%), GPS (8.4%), Warisan (3.7%), Pejuang (1.9%), Parti Sarawak Bersatu (0.9%) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (0.5%).
“That is why I believe the distribution of all the 63 seats in all the nine PSSCs at this moment should be reflective of such a ratio.”
Yii said with over 150 government backbenchers and opposition lawmakers available, that leaves more than 80 MPs with no executive, House, or committee responsibilities.
He added that there is the need to include more MPs in the process of policy and lawmaking, as well as to strengthen bipartisan parliamentary oversight. – The Vibes, September 9, 2021
