malaysiakini logo
story-image
story-image
mk-logo
News
Lawmakers could do with a 'scrutiny committee', says Gerakan Youth
Published:  Jul 17, 2018 9:48 PM
Updated: 2:12 PM
ADS

Gerakan deputy youth chief Andy Yong has mooted the establishment of a parliamentary 'scrutiny committee' to advise MPs on legislative and fiscal matters tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.

In a statement today, Yong said such a committee is necessary because some elected representatives lack the requisite "intellectual capability" to understand the bills put before them, and are more concerned with politicising issues.

"There is today an extremely worrying trend in the august house... quite often their debates and motions have nothing to do with the bills tabled or issues of the day.

"Many of the MPs, even before the 14th general election, did not even bother to read or understand bills before debating the same.

"Some are in complete ignorance due to lack of intellectual capability," his statement read.

Yong pointed out that such scrutiny committees are already a feature in the United Kingdom and Australia, and function to ascertain whether any bills violate constitutional provisions, are consistent with other laws, or trample on personal liberties. 

"As Malaysians want to see a truly new Malaysia, our system of parliamentary democracy needs to be understood by its members and the public," he said.

Yong added that MPs from both sides should seriously focus on their duties for the country to move forward progressively. 

View Comments