DAP today welcomed the cabinet's decision to form a select committee comprising ruling and opposition parliamentarians to seek public opinion on proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code.

"The government's more open and consultative parliamentary and legislative approach in moving towards the select committee system is nonetheless a significant first step to restore the doctrine of the separation of powers," said its chairperson Lim Kit Siang in a statement.

The parliamentary opposition leader was responding to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Aziz Abdul Aziz's statement yesterday on the select committee.

The minister said the cabinet decided to set up the committee because the changes to the CPC affected many people.

However, Lim said the laudable aim was "somewhat spoilt" by the controversial qualification that this, as Nazri put it, would be 'for very important amendments' only.

"The establishment and institutionalisation of the select committee system in parliament should be one of the major innovations in the far-reaching programme of parliamentary reform and modernisation to make the Malaysian parliament a First World parliament," he added.

Learn from others

The Ipoh Timor MP said other Commonwealth and world parliaments underwent generations of reforms and modernisation in the past half a century while "time stood still" for the Malaysian parliament.

"Both the cabinet and parliament should look at practices in other parliaments and countries where select committees have become an integral part of the legislative process," he added.

The veteran politician said another indicator of the government's openness was Nazri's acceptance to be a speaker and panelist on the subject of 'parliamentary reform' in the first DAP national consultation on 'Agenda for First World Parliament' on Sunday.

Other speakers include, economist Prof KS Jomo, prominent lawyer Raja Aziz Addruse, Transparency International Malaysia president Tunku Abdul Aziz, former New Straits Times editor-in-chief Abdullah Ahmad, Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general G Rajasekaran, renowned academic Prof Syed Husin Al-atas and women's rights activist Shanti Dairiam.

Lim said he would like to invite both ruling and opposition parliamentarians to attend the event at the Crystal Crown Hotel, which is also open to the public.

Live telecast

Also on parliamentary matters, the DAP leader questioned why there was so much resistance to having live telecasts of parliamentary proceedings when such telecasts of sporting events were commonplace in this country.

The government rejected the proposal on the ground that it would be too expensive while Nazri ( photo ), who oversees parliamentary affairs, claimed that an empty House due to dismal attendance would project a negative image.

Meanwhile, Lim also reiterated his call to appoint an opposition MP to the position of deputy speaker.

"I hope the prime minister, cabinet and parliament are prepared to initiate a change in mindset in handling parliamentary matters by accepting an opposition MP as deputy speaker to underline a more collaborative, consultative and cooperative approach among MPs in the new parliament," he said.

If this was accepted, Lim said he would propose DAP MP for Ipoh Barat M Kulasegaran and the party's MP for Bukit Mertajam Chong Eng for the position.

In a related development, Sisters of Islam (SIS) also welcomed the cabinet's decision to activate the select committee procedure.

"This is a major step forward in the practice of parliamentary democracy in the country as it will generate a better informed public discussion on legislation before they are passed in Parliament," it said in a statement.

SIS also urged the government to cease the practice of declaring draft bills as official secret before they are tabled in parliament as this will allow non-governmental organisations and other experts consulted in the drafting process to provide feedback.