Press Conference Statement (2) by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong, Lim Kit Siang, at Penang DAP Hqrs on Thursday, 7th September 1995 at 11.30 a.m.
The first casualties of a MCA victory in the Bagan by-election will be the Opposition MPs who will further gagged from speaking up in Parliament and providing a check-and-balance against government abuses and corrupt practices
The first casualties of a MCA victory in the Bagan by-election will be the Opposition MPs who will further gagged from speaking up in Parliament and providing a check-and-balance against government abuses and corrupt practices.
This is because the Defence Minister, Datuk Syed Hamid Albar said after the Cabinet meeting yesterday that although the Government had withdraw the proposals for drastic and draconian amendment to the Parliamentary Standing Orders, it was because of “shortage of time” and that the proposed amendments would be given “first preference” when Parliament reconvenes for its budget meeting in mid-October.
There is no indication that the Government is prepared to give a completely re-think to the issue, especially from the point of view of making the Parliamentary Standing Orders and procedures more liberal and democratic instead of making them more restrictive to gag MPs.
Hamid said yesterday that the withdrawal of the motion to amend the Parliamentary Standing Orders was done with the consent of the Standing Orders Committee and the Government.
It definitely had the consent of the Government, but Hamid was not telling the truth when he claims that it had the consent of the Parliamentary Standing Orders Committee. I had just checked with the DAP MP for Kepong, Dr. Tan Seng Giaw, who is the Opposition representative on the Standing Orders Committee, and he confirmed that the Standing Orders Committee knew nothing about the withdrawal as no meeting was called and so the question of consent does not arise.
This is most disturbing, for it shows that the Government lacks the democratic spirit of genuine consultation with MPs from all parties on an important question like the drastic and draconian amendments to the Standing Orders.
If the Bagan by-election is won by the MCA, then the Barisan Nasional will take it as public endorsement for the drastic and draconian amendments to the Parliamentary Standing Orders to gag Opposition MPs.
Under the orastic and draconian amendments, MPs cannot ask more than five questions to Ministers – when at present MPs can ask 20 questions for every meeting. At present, there are only can average of 40 to 50 oral questions a day, as compared to some other Parliaments where MPs ask 200 to 300 oral questions a day! This is most shocking and will allow Ministers and Barisan Nasional MPs to be lazy and irresponsible.
Opposition MPs will not be able to raise motions of urgent definite publice importance, like the 10-day power black-out on the Penang Island in the June Parliament, the Tenaganita allegations of death, abuses and mistreatment of Bangladeshi and other migrant workers in the immigration detention camps and the new crisis of confidence in the independence of the judiciary in the last Parliamentary.
There is another draconian proposal to give the Speaker and Deputy Speaker powers to suspend an MP for up to 10 days when at present there is only power to suspend for one day. Why should such draconian and undemocratic powers be given to the Speaker – when there are no such powers in the Indian or Taiwan Parliaments, where MPs often end up in fisticuffs and the Speaker often become the attack of physical assaults!
This is a most dangerous trend. Already we see a new situation whereby elected Opposition MPs could be removed from office, like Wee Choo Keong who was elected MP for Bukit Bintang, or where the voters are denied to elect the MP of their choice – both in the case of Bukit Bintang and Petaling Jaya Utara.
Now, there is a further attempt to give enhanced powers to the Speaker to remove Opposition MPs from Parliament for up to ten days at one time, purportedly on grounds of imposing discipline.
The voters of Bagan should make clear on Saturday that they reject these draconian and undemocratic attempts to seek their legitimacy and consent to gag Opposition MPs in Parliament after the by-election.