Madius (middle) accompanied by Kangar MP Noor Amin when handing over the proposal to Takiyuddin.
KOTA KINABALU: The call by Members of Parliament on the government to set up 13 more parliamentary special select committees (PSSCs) has been submitted to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan.
The written proposal was submitted to Takiyuddin by Tuaran Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau on Tuesday.
Madius who is also United Progressive Kinabalu Organization (UPKO) president on his Facebook page said Takiyuddin has on principle, welcomed the proposal and gave his commitment that he will bring the matter to the attention of the Dewan Rakyat Speaker.
Fifty-five MPs constituting a 62.5 per cent of the 88 private parliamentarians from the Opposition and Government backbench, denied any committee responsibilities, have called for the setting up of at least 13 more parliamentary special select committees (PSSCs) so that all ministries may be effectively scrutinized and all private MPs may sit on at least one PSSC.
They issued a joint statement which was shared to the media by Madius in which they urged that all parliamentarians should be able to participate effectively in the national lawmaking and policymaking process.
Parliament, the statement said, must not be treated as the stepping stone to be ministers and deputy ministers. Instead, while ministers and deputy ministers run the country full time, other parliamentarians must also be allowed to function full time in scrutinizing the government.
Even when the Parliament is not sitting to pass laws and debate over policies, private MPs must be allowed to perform their duty of legislative oversight through PSSCs. Each focusing on one ministerial portfolio or cluster, PSCCs can meet frequently throughout the year to investigate issues and conduct hearings of relevant citizens, civil society groups, businesses and civil servants, it added.
“Unfortunately, we have 30 ministerial portfolios but only nine PSSCs that scrutinise 20 ministerial portfolios and lump many important portfolios in one committee. Out of the 220 existing parliamentarians, after excluding two deputy speakers and 64 ministers, minister-level envoys or deputy ministers, we have 154 government backbenchers and opposition lawmakers who can sit on committees.
Amongst the parliamentary committees, the PSSCs which currently can have only seven MPs per committee and the 14-member Public Accounts Committee meet frequently while four other standing committees namely Committees of Selection, House Committee, Standing Orders Committee and Committee of Privileges meet only occasionally,” the MPs claimed.
They added that with only nine PSSCs and a few MPs sit on multiple PSSCs, only 61 MPs get to sit on the PSSCs and PAC, while five other MPs sit only on one or more of the four other standing committees.
This leaves behind 88 (40 per cent) parliamentarians with no Executive, House or committee responsibilities.
“If the number of MPs per PSSC is not increased, then the Parliament needs 13 more PSSCs to allow all MPs to contribute to policymaking. As the Parliament met for only an average of 70 days a year even in the pre-Covid years (2000-2019), this means that even when Parliament returns to the pre-Covid normal, we as part of the 40 per cent excluded parliamentarians, will be denied opportunities to provide legislative oversight on the Executive in eight out of 12 months (counting in Fridays and weekends when the Parliament does not meet),” they said.