KUALA LUMPUR: The government will table the Parliamentary Services Act (PSA) next year, according to a government backbencher.
The PSA was initially supposed to be tabled last month.
However, Subang MP Wong Chen said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the PSA would be delayed and introduced next year.
Anwar made the announcement in Parliament on Thursday, he said.
The PSA, which was repealed in 1992, is planned for reintroduction to ensure the separation of powers between Parliament and the executive.
Wong, an advocate for the PSA's reinstatement, suggested that the delay is likely due to administrative issues, including matters related to Parliament staff salaries and pensions.
"I think the delay has to do with the complexity of transitioning Parliament officers from being part of the civil service to an independent parliamentary service," he told the New Straits Times.
"The current Parliament-based officers will probably want better or equivalent pay and pensions."
There have been increasing calls to reintroduce the PSA to better uphold the separation of powers between Parliament and the federal government.