KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet has, in principle, agreed with the proposal to implement Parliamentary reforms.
This will see among others amendment to the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952 containing provisions on whether to prohibit Members of Parliament (MP) charged in court from attending council activities.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law), Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the matter was still being refined to suit the development and rules of the current Dewan Rakyat.
"This act has not been amended since it was enacted, (the amendment) to suit the current environment and conditions.
"Therefore, this act needs to be reviewed and amended. The amendment is important so that the act is more relevant and has an impact under the current conditions.
"Act 347 is an act relating to the powers and privileges of the Council of Parliament, freedom of speech and debate in the proceedings of the council and protection of persons employed in the publication of the papers of the council," he said in a statement today.
Apart from the amendment to Act 347, Wan Junaidi said, two other Parliamentary reform proposals agreed by the Cabinet last Wednesday were related to the enactment of the Parliamentary Services Act and introducing the Draft Code of Ethics for Members of Parliament.
"The Parliamentary Services Act 1963 was repealed through the Constitution (Amendment) Act 1992 (Act A837), effective Nov 20, 1993. Its repeal was to meet the need at the time to open up the closed Parliamentary services to the federal civil service.
"The enactment of this act also takes into account the establishment of the Parliamentary Services Commission, which is also part of the management of the Parliament and has the autonomy to determine the policy and governance of the Malaysian Parliament, "he said.
He said several matters would be examined, including the proposal to establish a Parliamentary Services Scheme as well as financial resources and annual budget obtained by Parliament from the Consolidated Fund which is regulated by the Parliamentary Commission itself in line with the principle of separation of powers.
On the Code of Ethics for Members of Parliament, Wan Junaidi said it would outline a more detailed discipline on the attitude of current MPs inside and outside the house, as implemented in several other countries.
He said the proposal to introduce the code of ethics was in line with what was being implemented in other countries, including India and New Zealand.
"The proposed code of ethics was drafted in 2011 when he (Wan Junaidi) was the Chairman of the Technical Committee to draw up a code of ethics for MPs under the Reform Committee chaired by Datuk Seri Najib Razak a that time and implementing this code of ethics has not been considered since then," he said.
Following the Cabinet's decision, Wan Junaidi said he has requested that the President of Dewan Negara and Speaker of Dewan Rakyat convene a committee meeting chaired by them to decide on the framework and engage the minister with all stakeholders related to this law.
"Besides that, it is also to discuss the proposed calendar, timeline and further actions to be implemented by Parliament and the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister's Department.
"These two matters are also on the Parliamentary reform agenda which was agreed through the Memorandum of Understanding on Transformation and Political Stability signed on September 13, 2021," he said.