Empowering select committees among slew of Bersih demands for new govt

KUALA LUMPUR – As the country awaits the appointment of a new prime minister, electoral reform group Bersih 2.0 has urged the incoming government to undertake several reforms to Parliament and the empowerment of its special select committees.

Interestingly, the proposals include reform promises made by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Friday – three days before he resigned as prime minister to continue leading the country on a caretaker basis.

They include recognising the opposition leader as equivalent to a cabinet member, and ensuring a balanced and proportional representation of both Houses in select committees, in view of the current marginalisation of opposition MPs.

The reform proposals are part of Bersih 2.0’s research report entitled ‘Parliamentary Select Committee Reforms’ which was published today.

“We call for the functions, powers, resources and independence of the select committees to be empowered and given serious attention at the federal level as a check and balance instrument to the government and its agencies,” its steering committee said in a statement.

“This report, among others, identifies the marginalisation of opposition and backbencher MPs in the policy and lawmaking process in Parliament.

Power is too concentrated on the executive, opportunities to contribute are limited and less involved in select committees. For example, nine out of 10 of the select committees of the Dewan Rakyat are chaired by backbenchers.”

Other than a proportional representation in the select committees, and heightening of the roles and functions of the opposition leader, Bersih 2.0’s proposals also include:

– amendments to parliamentary Standing Orders to expand the powers of the committees, improve appointment processes, review composition of members and allow live broadcasts of activities carried out;

– strengthening the role and power of select committees to obtain evidence and conduct their own inquiries and investigations;

– live broadcasts of all select committees’ works for public viewing;

– flexibility for the committees to determine their own form of meetings, not only limited to Parliament’s premise;

– increasing the number of select committees in both the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara based on specific needs;

– adequate budget to ensure efficient functioning and smooth operations;

– sufficient manpower by expanding the size of select committee secretariats, including researchers, experts, clerks and support staff; and

– continuous and periodic training to all MPs and the select committee secretariats on best practices and latest developments related to parliamentary institutions. – The Vibes, August 16, 2021