Groups: Continue consultations even after PSA passed
“The bill was better due to civil society’s input. It should be a first step towards deeper parliamentary reform, not the last,” they said in a joint statement today...
Summary
Several groups have urged the government to continue engagements aimed at improving the Parliamentary Services Act (PSA).
The groups point out that improvements were made due to previous engagement sessions.
Among others, they want provisions to curb nepotism.
Civil society groups have urged Putrajaya to continue engagement with stakeholders to improve the newly passed Parliamentary Services Act (PSA).
“The bill was better due to civil society’s input. It should be a first step towards deeper parliamentary reform, not the last,” they said in a joint statement today.
The statement was endorsed by Bersih, the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), the Institute for Political Reform and Democracy (Reform), Project Stability and Accountability for Malaysia (Projek Sama) and Rasuah Busters.
Earlier, the Dewan Rakyat passed the PSA with several amendments, marking a historic return of the law which allows some autonomy to the legislative body in managing its operations.
After debates by 35 MPs, the bill received resounding support from both sides of the divide during a voice vote presided over by Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul this afternoon.
Yesterday, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2025 was passed with the support of a two-thirds majority to enable the government to reinstate and re-enforce the PSA.
Joint committee
On that note, the groups urged Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said to assure the public that Putrajaya is committed to taking necessary measures to guarantee the PSA is able to function as intended.
This, among others, is to ensure the law has the necessary elements for an effective, well-resourced and independent Parliament.
As such, they advocated for the establishment of a joint Parliamentary Standing Committee in both the Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat on the Administration and Financing of Parliament, with the committee serving as an oversight mechanism for the Parliamentary Service Council.
They also pushed for a provision on the Parliamentary Annual Report to be tabled in Parliament, insisting that the report be comprehensive and cover key aspects of parliamentary functions, administration, finance, performance and governance.
Plus, the groups mooted a provision in the PSA imposing a duty of impartiality on parliamentary service staff and prohibitions against nepotism.
