KOTA BHARU: Kelantan UMNO has urged the Kelantan state government to be more transparent in answering questions raised by its representatives in the upcoming State Legislative Assembly session, as well as to extend the session to ensure more issues of the people can be discussed.
Kelantan UMNO Liaison Committee chairman, Datuk Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub stressed that questions raised by the three assembly members of the Unity Government are often not answered or are re-tabled in the session.
He also questioned the duration of the Kelantan Assembly session which is considered too short compared to other states, while stating that all assemblymen whether from the state government or the opposition, have a role in voicing the views of the people.
“I ask the Kelantan Assembly session to take into account the questions raised by the three assemblymen from the Unity Government, so that there is no favouritism.
“This Kelantan Assembly session is among the shortest, shortest Assembly session in the world. In this world, there is no such short Assembly session,“ he told reporters after a dinner with the state Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, here, last night.
According to him, there are many discussions in the state government administration that the people need to know about but are instead kept under wraps.
Previously, each Kelantan Assembly session lasted for two to three days compared to other states which lasted a week, including Sabah, Sarawak and Perak.
Meanwhile, commenting on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s proposal to limit the Prime Minister’s term to two terms, Ahmad Jazlan said the matter needed to be discussed openly in Parliament to ensure that decisions made reflected the people’s wishes.
According to him, any changes to the country’s administrative system should be determined by elected representatives of the people themselves and not just based on the views of certain parties.
“This is a new thing for our country. Whether we want to set a term limit for the Prime Minister or keep it as it is, let it be debated in Parliament,“ he said.
On March 16, Anwar, while speaking at the DAP National Congress recently, was reported to have said that the government was keeping its promise to implement the reform agenda, including amending the Federal Constitution to limit the term of office of the Prime Minister to 10 years.
Anwar stressed that the process must be carried out meticulously and requires consensus from all parties and two-thirds of the Members of Parliament.
