There is no need for a special legislative parliamentary select committee (PSC) to be set up as it might hamper debate on Bills, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.

He said this was because a Bill approved by the committee might no longer have to be debated by members of the House.

“The present passage of a Bill is better as members of the House are given the opportunity to debate it, and not restricted to only the committee members,” he said when responding to a proposal on the setting up of the PSC by Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN-Kinabantangan) at the Dewan Rakyat today.

To the original question from Sim Tong Him (DAP-Kota Melaka) on the government’s readiness to set up a legislative PSC to study draft Bills before being tabled in the Dewan Rakyat, Nazri said the government was willing to consider it if the need arises.

He said currently, the Attorney-General’s Chambers was responsible in drafting a Bill before it was tabled in Parliament.

“Anyway, before any decision is made on the rationale of having a legislative PSC, a thorough study had to be made to determine whether there is a need for it,” he added.

On a proposal for the setting of a law department, Nazri said besides being de facto law minister, Parliament was also assisted by legal advisers from the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

- Bernama

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