KUALA LUMPUR – Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun again garnered public criticism after citing the Standing Orders to keep the parliamentary select committee (PSC) meeting away from public eyes.
One such criticism came from Public Accounts Committee chairman Wong Kah Woh, who said Azhar’s reasoning was “absurd” and “not right”.
“The speaker said that the closed-door proceedings are meant to ensure complete cooperation from everyone involved. This is totally absurd.
“The speaker is not right. He has the power to initiate the suspension of the Standing Orders by referring the same to the House for a decision pursuant to Standing Order 90(2).
“With the suspension of Standing Order 85, any parliamentary committees proceedings can be aired online and opened to the public.”
Wong also questioned Azhar’s hesitance for open proceedings to enable the public to watch, evaluate, and scrutinise the testimony given by the witnesses.
“The public’s right to know matters. It is an important issue that involves a top-rank officer who has put the integrity of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission at stake. It is time for the speaker to ensure that all PSCs can function efficiently and effectively to check on the executive.”
Wong said in a statement that all witnesses are duty-bound to give their full cooperation to the PSC and answer all questions raised during the proceedings.
He added that anyone who gives false answers has not only committed contempt of the House, but is liable to an offence under Section 193 of the Penal Code.
Wong also said that all notes of the proceedings are recorded in the form of the Hansard and will be published with the PSC’s report.
“Closed-door proceedings do not automatically guarantee a witness’ honesty, and open proceedings do not mean a witness can evade telling the truth. It makes no difference to the issue of the content of the witnesses’ testimony whether the proceedings are closed or opened.
“PSCs are set up for various subjects not for window dressing, but to serve as a serious move towards parliamentary reforms.
“The Parliamentary Standing Order Committee in 2019 made the decision for all PSC proceedings to be made public, and the hardware requirements for live proceedings are all ready and in place on the Malaysian Parliament TV channel.”
Yesterday, Azhar told The Star that the Standing Orders do not allow for open PSC proceedings.
“In fact, the Standing Orders disallow discussion or even disclosure of witnesses, witness statements, and contents of the proceedings until a report has been presented to the Dewan.
“This is also to ensure complete cooperation from everyone involved.”
Wednesday’s PSC proceedings at 2pm are scheduled to discuss Tan Sri Azam Baki’s shareholdings, although he maintains that he had no vested interest or benefit.
On January 12, Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin confirmed that the PSC on Agencies would convene to discuss matters pertaining to Azam.
“The issue to be discussed is ownership of shares by MACC’s chief commissioner,” said Chan.
The particular PSC is headed by PAS MP Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman, and includes Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, Datuk Nizar Zakaria, Anyi Ngau, Shaharizukirnain Abd Kadir, William Leong, Khoo Poay Tiong and Datuk Azis Jamman.
At the press conference on January 5, Azam had said that his brother, Nasir Baki, used his share-trading account to purchase shares in a private company in 2015.
He went on to explain that all the shares were eventually moved to Nasir’s account and insisted that he saw no issue with allowing his brother to initially use his. – The Vibes, January 17, 2022
