KUALA LUMPUR – The government is taking positive steps towards better accountability and transparency by establishing a new convention for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to regularly answer three queries during Prime Minister’s Questions and Answers (PMQs), say observers.
During PMQs, parliamentarians will be able to hear directly from the prime minister for an hour every Tuesday at the first meeting of the second session of the 15th Parliament, Anwar said yesterday morning.
However, the standard Minister’s Question Time for cabinet members will be held every Thursday.
Ong Ooi Heng, a parliamentary affairs researcher, said the newly introduced convention shows that the government has the political will to implement parliamentary reforms, including better accountability on the part of the prime minister who will directly answer questions regarding his administration’s policies or decisions.
Ong said most importantly, the session would allow MPs to immediately ask questions pertaining to ongoing crises or matters of public interest that are beyond policy implementation.
While such sessions would allow for MPs to pose questions on policies, it would also enable the MPs to question the prime minister on crises and immediate action on the issue, as we have seen earlier on the earthquake in Turkiye.
“Similarly on policies, it would cut a significant amount of time as MPs often have to write in the questions to the necessary ministries or ministers, but they now have the opportunity to ask the prime minister directly for answers as he is the top decision-maker,” said Ong.
Ong explained that PMQs was first mooted by former Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia back in 2015 as part of his parliamentary reforms. However, the move was rejected by then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
This is because while the speaker has full authority in the Dewan Rakyat, they still need to seek commitment from the prime minister as the latter is required to commit for each PMQs.
Ong however suggested that a mixture of impromptu questions as well as MPs submitting their questions beforehand would be appropriate.
“On one hand, MPs would need to do their homework before posing their questions and would provide the prime minister proper time to provide more precise answers.
“At the same time, impromptu questions should also be allowed to address the needs of the week or day,” said Ong.
Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs chief executive Tricia Yeoh echoed Ong, saying that such a convention would allow MPs to seek information, press for action, and hold the government accountable for its decisions and actions.
It is positive because the prime minister himself is answering these questions directly, as the main person ultimately responsible for the government of the day.
“The Malaysian Parliament has typically not had the opportunity to truly be used as a platform for accountability and response, so this signals the opening up of more space and opportunities to do so,” she said.
Similarly, Yeoh suggested that the government should extend the number of questions allowed to MPs from three to six – as per the convention in the United Kingdom.
She also suggested that the government should not place a prerequisite unnecessarily asking MPs to submit their questions beforehand.
“The speaker of the Dewan Rakyat should determine the practice and culture of PMQs. So yes, it would be ideal for the principle of the matter to be for MPs to be able to raise questions as they see fit, without having to submit questions in advance, or any other prerequisite that might make it too cumbersome for MPs to ask questions during PMQs.
“The idea here is to have a more open session on policy matters that MPs believe the prime minister of the day ought to be responding to,” she said.
Yeoh also hopes that PMQs will be adopted by all future prime ministers and governments of the day to maintain this culture of accountability, and “make use of Parliament for such a robust purpose”. – The Vibes, February 15, 2023
