PETALING JAYA – The cabinet’s plans to “contact” the Dewan Rakyat speaker over some MPs’ remarks made in the legislative chamber is only aimed at providing feedback, and not to interfere in Parliament’s independence, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
Fahmi said it was not unusual to make requests to meet the speaker, as the opposition leader and party whips would do this from time to time.
“Even MPs, whether backbenchers from the government or opposition, can meet with the speaker to share their views, seek advice or change their minds.
“That is what I meant, to provide feedback, nothing more than that. We cannot instruct the speaker to do anything,” he told reporters during the Kem Kesihatan Mata programme at the Taman Seri Sentosa Community Hall today.
Fahmi’s response came after Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh chided him over the cabinet’s plans to meet with the Dewan Rakyat speaker, which the DAP lawmaker said implied that Parliament was under the government’s control.
Ramkarpal, who is former deputy law minister, said Parliament was independent and had its own powers, including the Standing Orders, to deal with concerns about MPs making false statements.
Fahmi had expressed concerns over lawmakers who had made misleading statements in the Dewan Rakyat during the recent debate on the royal address.
The minister had cited Tasek Gelugor MP Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan who had made corruption allegations against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and then later apologised.
“We can see when (Wan Saiful) issued an apology, it was after – if we hear the speaker say – a meeting took place,” Fahmi said today.
He said the cabinet disagreed with such behaviour, as repeatedly making misleading statements would confuse other MPs, while rendering subsequent apologies meaningless. – March 10, 2024