KUALA LUMPUR – Absenteeism among representatives in Parliament may soon prove to be costly for politicians, as Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul is now looking at ways to penalise them for failing to attend sittings.
Johari said the punishment may include a suspension of their roles, as well as the retraction of certain allowances for the MPs who fail to attend Dewan Rakyat proceedings.
He said former Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof had previously suggested a review of Parliament’s Standing Orders regarding this matter, adding that this could make the politicians more accountable to their constituents and others in the nation.
“In order to be kind to the population of Malaysia, there should be a certain amount of hours (that should be fulfilled in Parliament),” Johari said after speaking at the Concorde Club forum with the media at the Bukit Bintang Convention Centre, here, this afternoon.
“There should be a (minimum) cap, when you come into Parliament, you have to show that you ‘bekerja’ (are working) and only then are you paid. I think this is quite reasonable because at the moment, we do not have that. It’s free and easy (for the MPs).”
Johari said this in response to a question on whether he had planned to make the attendance or suspension of MPs available to the public via Parliament’s official website.
He lamented that some MPs did the bare minimum when attending Parliament, despite being given high allowances to do so.
However, Johari said that the suggested changes may require a considerable amount of work as it may require amendments to the Standing Orders, apart from other legal matters.
“You (politicians) come (to Parliament) and clock in, within three minutes you go and have coffee… you come back in (to the august House) and fight a little bit, and then you drive off, which is not fair,” he said of the MPs.
“Again, I’m bound by the Standing Orders, but I will look (into the matter) seriously. Those who are absent at the moment, if you are continuously absent for six months, then you lose your position, but we probably have to come up with something more stringent, that if you do not come for a certain period of time, then I will suspend your allowances.”
Johari also noted an incident where an MP insisted that “we are not schoolkids” to have their attendance in Parliament recorded.
However, he does not agree with this reasoning as MPs have previously pleaded to the people to be appointed to office.
“It’s not only a legal responsibility because you are paid (to be an MP), you have a moral responsibility to be there.”
During the forum, Johari also stressed that he was looking at ways to “open up” Parliament to the public through various engagements with the youth.
He also wanted to ensure that decorum was observed among politicians in the august House, especially in the wake of the recent shouting match that saw opposition lawmakers stage a walkout.
Johari also insisted that he must remain fair to opposition lawmakers, especially when arguments become extremely heated.
“I’ve got to be fair, you can’t mute (them) all the time. But as a Speaker, I think they (the opposition) have some points (to be made). But if you’re too much, the Standing Orders state that you cannot repeat what you said.”
“Once you (the opposition) have sent the message home, that’s enough. But if you keep on repeating the same things over and over again, that’s where the muting comes in,” he said.
“As long as there is decorum, you cannot swear (in the Dewan Rakyat), you cannot ‘maki’ (berate) people. You must remember the ones who are watching you are not the elderly, you have schoolchildren, the youngsters who are inspired to be MPs, who dream to one day be a leader.”
“There is a difference between leadership and politicians. Politicians think of the next elections, leaders think of the next generation. I want them to be leaders, not politicians alone.” – October 6, 2023