Parliament of Malaysia
From Freepedia
| Image:Malaysia flag large.png This article is part of the series Politics of Malaysia |
Constitution |
|
Politics Portal |
The Parliament of Malaysia consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives or literally People's Hall, in Malay) and the Dewan Negara (Nation's Hall in Malay; however, it is commonly referred to as the Senate). It is the legislative branch of the government of Malaysia.
A general election is held every four or five years to elect representatives to the Dewan Rakyat; members of the Dewan Negara, like those of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, are appointed. Members of Parliament are commonly referred to as MPs.
The Malaysian Parliament is located in Kuala Lumpur.
Contents |
Relationship with the government
In theory, based on the Constitution of Malaysia, the government is accountable to Parliament. However, there has been substantial controversy over the independence of the Malaysian Parliament, with many viewing it simply as a rubber stamp, approving the executive branch's decisions. Constitutional scholar Shad Saleem Faruqi has calculated that 80% of all bills the government introduced from 1991 to 1995 were passed without a single amendment. According to him, another 15% were withdrawn due to pressure from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or other countries, while only 5% were amended or otherwise altered by Parliament. Saleem concludes that "the legislative process is basically an executive process, not a parliamentary process."
Checks and balances
Theoretically, the executive branch of the government is held in check by the legislative and judiciary branches. Parliament largely exerts control on the government through question time, where MPs question members of the cabinet on government policy, and through Select Committees that are formed to look into a particular issue.
However, there have been only six Select Committees formed since 1970, when Parliament reconvened after the May 13 Incident. Of these, three were formed between 2002 and 2005.
Although question time exists for Parliament to check the power of the executive, it has been argued that the question time alloted for MPs to question the government on its policies is insufficient or ineffective. Shad Saleem Faruqi notes that as each question time session lasts only an hour, at the most, twelve questions can be asked. Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) calculated that over the space of three days (from 10 October to 13 October 2005), only 32 questions were asked.
Of these 32 questions, only nine or 28% percent were answered by the Ministers concerned. The rest were answered either by Deputy Ministers (41%) or Parliamentary Secretaries (31%). Lim criticised Minister for International Trade and Industry Rafidah Aziz as having "the worst record in playing truant from parliamentary duties" and asked Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to make it mandatory for Ministers to answer 80% of the questions directed at them during question time.
Time is allocated for discussion of the annual budget after it is tabled by the government's representative (usually the Prime Minister); however, most MPs spend much of the time questioning the government on other issues. Saleem notes that about 20 days are given for discussion of the budget, but "the budget debate is used to hit the government on the head about everything else other than the budget. From potholes to education policy to illegal immigrants."
If Parliament votes to reject the budget, it is taken as a vote of no-confidence, forcing the government out of office. The government will then either have to reform itself with a new cabinet and possibly new Prime Minister, or call for a general election. Saleem states that "MPs may criticise, they may have their say but the government will have its way" when it comes to the budget.
Department of Parliament controversy
In early October of 2005 the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of parliamentary affairs, Nazri Aziz, announced the formation of a Department of Parliament to oversee its day-to-day running. The leader of the Opposition, Lim Kit Siang, immediately announced a "Save Parliament" campaign to "ensure that Parliament does not become a victim in the second most serious assault on the doctrine of separation of powers in the 48-year history of the nation".
Nazri soon backed down, saying he had meant an office (although he stated jabatan, which means department; pejabat is the Malay word for office) and not Department (Jabatan) of Parliament. The New Straits Times, a newspaper owned by the United Malays National Organisation (a key member of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition) wrote in an editorial that "ministerial authority was established over Parliament the building" and not Parliament the institution and that "[i]f the new 'department' and its management and staff do their jobs well, the rakyat (people) would have even more of a right to expect their MPs to do theirs by turning up for Dewan sessions, preserving that quaint tradition of the quorum, on behalf of their constituencies."
Lim was dissatisfied with such a response and went ahead with a "Save Parliament" roundtable attended by several MPs (including Nazri) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Although Lim thanked Nazri (the only Barisan Nasional MP in attendance), he stated that the proposed department remained a threat to Parliament's independence, and had to be "seen in the context of the relentless erosion and diminution of parliamentary powers and functions by the Executive". In a statement, the roundtable found that "Nazri’s explanations were not convincing" and urged "Nazri to halt all implementation of the Cabinet decision to establish a Department or Office of Parliament until MPs and the civil society could approve and support the proposal".
On October 13 in the Dewan Rakyat, Ahmad Shabery Cheek (BN MP for Kemaman) tabled a motion to reinstate the Parliamentary Services Act 1963 (which would provide for a parliamentary service independent of the Public Service Department currently handling parliamentary affairs) that had been repealed (upon the unilateral suggestion of then Speaker of the House, Zahir Ismail) in 1992. Ahmad Shabery demanded to know if the government would make the status of parliament as an independent institution clear, and stated that "Aside from nice flooring, chairs and walls, we don’t even have a library that can make us proud, no in-house outlet selling copies of different Acts that are passed in Parliament itself and no proper information centre."
Nazri responded that the motion would have to be referred to the House Committee for review. Shahrir Abdul Samad, chairman of the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers' Club, then insisted that the Act be immediately restored without being referred to the Committee, and called on all MPs who supported the motion to stand. Several immediately stood, with some Opposition MPs shouting "bangun, bangun" (stand up, stand up). Following Shahrir's lead, a majority of the BN MPs also stood, including some frontbenchers. However, several ministers, including Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar (who had supported repealing the Act in 1992) remained seated. Nazri then stated that the matter would remain with the Committee, as he did not want it dealt with in a slipshod manner.
The following day, Lim called on Kamaruddin Mohd Baria, who would have taken the post of Parliament Head of Administration, not to report for duty in his new post. Meanwhile, the Dewan Negara House Committee held a specially-convened meeting, which called on the government to revive the Act and to call off all moves to change the administrative structure of Parliament. The President of the Dewan Negara, Abdul Hamid Pawanteh, also stated that he had not been informed "at all" by the government regarding the new department or office of Parliament. Later the same day, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Radzi Sheikh Ahmad stated that the government agreed to revive the Act.
However, on October 17, Nazri refused to budge on the issue of the new post of "Parliament Head of Administration" (which would make the current Setiausaha Parlimen, accountable to Parliament and not the executive, redundant). He also stated that the Parliamentary Service Act would have to go through the Dewan Rakyat House Committee and endorsed by the Dewan Rakyat before being sent to the cabinet for approval. In his blog, Lim slammed Nazri for overlooking "the fact that when the Parliamentary Privilege Act was repealed in 1992, it was not at the recommendation of the Dewan Rakyat House Committee but merely at the unilateral request of the Speaker."
Current composition
| Dewan Rakyat | |
| Affiliation | Seats won (2004) |
| Barisan Nasional coalition | 198 |
| — United Malays National Organisation | 109 |
| — Malaysian Chinese Association | 31 |
| — Malaysian Indian Congress | 9 |
| — Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia | 10 |
| — Other component parties | 39 |
| Democratic Action Party | 12 |
| Barisan Alternatif coalition | 7 |
| — PAS | 6 |
| — Parti Keadilan Rakyat | 1 |
| Ind. | 1 |
| Total | 219 |
| Dewan Negara | |
| Mode of Appointment | Seats |
| By King | 44 |
| By State Rep. | 12 |
| Total | 76 |
See also
References
- Ahmad, Zainon & Phang, Llew-Ann (Oct. 1, 2005). The all-powerful executive. The Sun.
- Lim, Kit Siang (2005). "The day Dr. Mahathir was 'taken for a ride' by Rafidah". Retrieved Oct. 15, 2005.
- Lim, Kit Siang (2005). "Minister for 'First-World' Parliament - not Minister for Parliament toilets and canteen". Retrieved Oct. 12, 2005.
- Lim, Kit Siang (2005). "'Save Parliament' campaign". Retrieved Oct. 12, 2005.
- Lim, Kit Siang (2005). "Skies brighten for Parliament after a week of dark clouds". Retrieved Oct. 14, 2005.
- Lim, Kit Siang (2005). "Sorry I was wrong, there is still no light at the end of the tunnel". Retrieved Oct. 17, 2005.
- "Resounding aye to power separation". (Oct. 14, 2005). New Straits Times, p. 8.
- Oorjitham, Santha (Oct. 16, 2005). "More consultation on the road to transparency". Bernama.
- "Order in the House". (Oct. 12, 2005). New Straits Times, p. 18.
