MPs take a historic stand

MPs take a historic stand "The show of solidarity represents the first real start by the MPs to work together towards reforming the national legislature ­ the first real start to more efforts needed to finally erase the stigma that it is but a rubber stamp of the executive branch of the government." ZAINON AHMAD AT THE DEWAN RAKYAT WHAT happened in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday can only be described as "historic". It was indeed a rare show of solidarity when MPs ­ the backbenchers, some front benchers and the those in the opposition pews ­ rallied to demonstrate that they want parliament to be left alone to run its own affairs. They stood up in unison to indicate that they wanted a Parliamentary Services Act to be legislated which will allow parliament to have its own scheme of service and to administer itself like what was allowed under the Parliamentary Services Act (PSA) 1963 before it was repealed in 1992. As if in solidarity with them the house committee of the Dewan Negara, chaired by president Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Pawanteh, on Friday declared that it wanted the Act and called for all moves to change the structure of the administration of parliament to be halted. Everyone now is waiting for the house committee of the Dewan Rakyat , chaired by Speaker Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib, to meet and to make its stand. By their stand the MPs and the Senate were in fact saying `no' to the administrator that Minister in the Prime Minister's Depart ment Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said the government wanted brought in to supervise the running of the national legislature. Seen from the perspective of other parliaments in the world, what happened was nothing. And Malaysians who are generally uninterested in something that does not benefit their pockets would probably say it was "much ado" over nothing or that they do not understand "what the fuss" was all about. But to those who have been calling for the reform of the national legislature to make it world class in terms of independence and the quality of debates that go on inside, Thursday was a significant day in the history of democracy in Malaysia. It was as if the MPs were finally putting their foot down to more changes that will reduce further ­ no matter how miniscule ­ the independence of parliament and saying: "No more, please." The show of solidarity represents the first real start by the MPs to work together towards reforming the national legislature ­ the first real start to more efforts needed to finally erase the stigma that it is but a rubber stamp of the executive branch of the government. It is to the credit of the few front benchers ­ among them deputy minister of international trade and industry Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah and deputy tourism minister Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi ­ that they acted according to the dictates of their conscience. Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, who was in the House when Datuk Shahrir Samad (BN-Johor Baru) called for those who supported the restoration of the PSA to stand up, remained seated but said outside the House later that he supported bringing back the Act. No doubt the restoration of the Act will not immediately remove the unsavoury appellation of "rubber stamp" currently attached to parliament but it will at least represent a major step forward in efforts to make the national legislature much more independent, said Salahuddin Ayub (PAS-Kubang Kerian). What shook the MPs and started them again on the path of reforming parliament was the announcement at a press conference by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz on Oct 6 that the gover nment had on Se pt 15 agreed to the setting up of a parliament department to manage the affairs and administration of parliament. It would be headed by a director-general. Shahrir, chair man of the backbenchers club (BBC) was apprehensive of the move. So were his fellow Barisan Nasional MPs who fear ­ as had often happened, said one of them ­ that a toe-hold could eventually lead to a complete takeover. Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang said Malaysia would be a laughing stock of the global parliamentary community as it would be the only country in the Commonwealth to have a "department of parliament which virtually runs parliament." Following Kit Siang's failure to get the Dewan Rakyat to debate the move, Nazri held a press conference on Wednesday to say that he was misreported. All he wanted was a "head of administration" to oversee administrative matters, leaving the secretaries of the Dewan Negara and the Dewan Rakyat to handle all the legislative matters. The MPs were not convinced as the head would be on a Superscale B salary while the secretaries, who currently also administer the running of the building, are in Superscale C. They foresaw problems. "I am not convinced of the rationale to appoint someone from outside to head the administration," said Datin Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (Keadilan-Permatang Pauh). "There is a lot of nonsense going on," said Shahrir. The MPs decided that just as it was the problems in parliament which caused late Speaker Tun Dr Mohamed Zahir Ismail to initiate moves to repeal the PSA, the future problems in its administration could be averted by bringing back the Act. The opportunity came during question time on Thursday when Ahmad Shabery Cheek (BN-Kemaman) asked whether the government intends to amend the constitution to define parliamentary independence especially in financial matters. Nazri who answered on behalf of the prime minister brought in the issue of the PSA. He said it could be re-enacted following the decision of the house committee. Shahrir asked whether the process of bringing back the PSA could be short-circuited by MPs showing their support. And he asked all those in favour to stand up. At a press conference later Shahrir insisted that there was no need for the house committee to meet and report to the Dewan Rakyat its decision before Nazri could report the matter to the Cabinet. "The power to initiate legislation is with the Executive. "If the Executive can't see the support today, then they may not be getting the right report," remarked the BBC chairman.