KUALA LUMPUR: The suggestion that the Parliament Service Act 1963, which was abolished in 1992, be brought back by making improvements to it, were among nine proposals in the Senate Reform Working Committee (SRWC) report which was submitted to the government yesterday.
SRWC chairman senator Senator Mohd Yusmadi Mohd Yusoff said that it was important in the effort to increase the autonomy of Parliament.
“We (committee) also suggest that SRWC be made a select committee so that it will be more official and have legal basis and we hope that one suggestion can be tabled at the upcoming senate session for that purpose,“ he told reporters.
Prior to that, he submitted the SRWC report and proposal to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong who was responsible for the Parliament laws and affairs.
Mohd Yusmadi said that, among other proposals, the number of the membership of the Dewan Negara be increased to from three states compared to the current two.
“The federal constitution permits three representatives for state appointments without needing any amendment. It is not wrong if the proposal is refined by taking into account current needs,’’ he said.
The 37-page report themed ‘Consensus for the sake of the people’ (’Muafakat Demi Rakyat’), among others, also proposed gender equality, so that the composition of women in the senate was more balanced to express the voice of that group. — Bernama
