KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Negara president Tan Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar today reminded Cabinet members to respect the parliamentary institution by attending question and answer sessions for their respective ministries.
He said as the upper house of Parliament, the Senate’s sanctity must be respected, and the presence of ministers is important to clarify matters raised by members of the Senate.
“I would like to remind here that if the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) can attend (proceedings), both the Deputy Prime Ministers (Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof) can attend, why not the ministers?
“Is it because (they think) this place is too lowly for the ministers? This is the upper house of Parliament,” he said when Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan was answering questions in the Dewan Negara today.
Earlier, Senator Amir Md Ghazali, in his supplementary question, wanted some clarification on the position of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, whom he claimed had not attended question and answer proceedings in the last eight months.
Wan Junaidi also reproached Khairul Firdaus, whom he said was not providing the specific answers required to matters raised to the ministry.
“Yang Berhormat (Khairul Firdaus), you are mostly answering (only) on tourism products, what is being asked is about the conduct of tourism players and not merely (tourism) products... I hope the ministry (MOTAC) can prepare satisfactory answers,” he said. –Bernama
