KANGAR: State governments have been advised to include a special hospitality allocation for state assembly speakers in their respective budgets to ensure activities with the public proceed smoothly.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Dr Johari Abdul said the special allocation will be among the topics discussed at the Parliament and State Legislative Assembly Speakers’ Conference to be held in Sarawak in September.
“If possible, the state governments should allocate a small amount for this... my suggestion is to include it in the state budget,“ he told reporters after his working visit to the Perlis state legislative assembly complex here today.
Meanwhile, Johari said there have been many positive changes in Parliament, including sessions where ministers provide briefings on current issues during Dewan Rakyat sittings, even if there are no questions from MPs.
“I try to ensure that MPs do not talk about politics but focus on substance, so the time available can be used for ministerial briefings. Sometimes, ministers will not address current issues unless there are questions. Ultimately, the public should be informed, but often they are not,” he said.
“However, if we provide briefing sessions for ministers to address current issues without questions from MPs, it helps.
“For instance, I recently allowed the Second Finance Minister to explain the purchase of Malaysia Airport shares. We provided an hour for the minister’s briefing, not just ten minutes,” he said.
He also said that some MPs do not participate in debates on specific issues and are absent from the Dewan Rakyat during these debates, but later comment on these issues on social media, giving the impression that they were present during the discussions.
He said that such behaviour should not occur as it can mislead the public, and these individuals are now under close watch.
