GEORGE TOWN – A minister should not be leading the parliamentary special select committee (PSSC) on the anti-party hopping legislation so it can remain independent, said former Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof.
He said a minister should only monitor the committee and present the bill for second reading in the lower House when the time comes.
“A parliamentary select committee must be independent. If they cannot appreciate this, then they’ve got it all wrong. The committee members can meet deliberately among themselves, or call in the experts they want.
“The beauty of a select committee is, if you do it properly it will consist of members who have the expertise, will have the vision, will have the correct temperament, who will do their work and put national interests first.”
He said this during a talk with the British Graduates Association Malaysia over Zoom today.
Last Monday, the Dewan Rakyat approved a motion to form a PSSC to make recommendations on constitutional amendments needed to enact an anti-hopping law.
The committee, comprising 11 government and opposition MPs, is chaired by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
Ariff, who was speaker in 2018, said that during the Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) rule, basic issues related to appointments of PSSCs were easier to resolve.
“It was very easy for me to set up six special select committees at that time, because they (PH) knew it needed to be done. However, everything changed with the Sheraton Move, and the PH government eventually collapsed.”
Ariff previously set up six PSSCs on issues such as budget, defence and home affairs, human rights and gender equality.
However, he was asked to vacate his post in July 2020 after former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin came to power following PH’s collapse.
Ariff was the first speaker to not be affiliated with any political parties. He has published a book titled Parliament, Unexpected, which has been available since February.
The Prime Minister’s Department has proposed to have another special Dewan Rakyat sitting on June 7 to debate the anti-party hopping legislation, pending agreement by the newly minted select committee.
The PSSC was given a month to present its findings to Parliament but would have the autonomy to decide on the frequency of proceedings and whether a deadline extension would be required.
Other pending matters such as constitutional provisions to limit a prime minister’s tenure to two terms would also be discussed by the PSSC.
The PSSC would also establish if Article 48(6) of the federal constitution, which prohibits any defecting lawmaker from competing in an election for five years, should be abolished.
Government-friendly representatives in the committee include two from Umno; Pengerang MP Datuk Seri Azalina Othman and Padang Rengas MP Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz; Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin from Bersatu; Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan of PAS; and Lukanisman Awang Sauni of Gabungan Parti Sarawak.
Representatives from the opposition include DAP’s Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, PKR’s Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (Kulim-Bandar Baharu), Amanah’s Sepang MP Mohamed Hanipa Maidin, United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation president Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau (Tuaran), and Warisan’s deputy president Datuk Darell Leiking (Penampang). – The Vibes, April 16, 2022
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