A 1963 law gave Parliament control over how it was run, but the law was repealed in 1992, with the administration of Parliament placed under the civil service.
PETALING JAYA: A group of reform advocates have called for the Parliamentary Services Bill to be improved so that Parliament is truly empowered and removed from the influence of the executive branch.
They called for improvements in the provisions on leadership, administrative autonomy, financial autonomy, services provided to MPs and public accountability.
The groups outlined 11 urgent remedies, including giving opposition and government MPs a say in running Parliament, financial autonomy for the parliamentary services council and the creation of a budget office.
“If this bill is passed, Parliament will still be largely under the influence of the executive branch, and not well-resourced and empowered to provide checks and balances and produce better laws and policies,” they said in a joint statement.
The statement was issued by the electoral reform group Bersih, the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, Projek Sama and Rasuah Busters.
The groups described the bill as unambitious, and self-restricting in adopting the strategy used for the previous 1963 law.
The 1963 Parliamentary Services Act gave Parliament control over how it was run but the law was repealed in 1992, with the administration of Parliament placed under the civil service, which critics say weakened its independence.
By contrast, bold reforms had been made by the parliaments of New Zealand, Australia, the UK and Canada to produce professional and competent parliamentary services, the groups said in a joint statement.
The NGOs also said the fact that 70% of parliamentary staff are against the bill is possibly due to inadequate briefings and information about the details and alternatives for the bill.
It was reported yesterday that some 70% of Parliament staff disagreed with the bill, according to opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin who claimed he was informed of this by former Dewan Rakyat speaker Azhar Azizan Harun.
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