DEWAN Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul is mulling the idea of docking MPs’ allowance if they are absent when Parliament is in session to deter absenteeism among the lawmakers.
In an exclusive interview with The Star, Johari said there have been calls to have the Parliament Standing Orders amended to pave the way for this.
“If you don’t come for X hours a day, you don’t get an allowance for that day. I think that is a good idea. They must spend certain amount of time in the House before they are entitled to the daily allowances they are paid,” Johari told the English daily.
The daily allowance is about RM500 a day and, according to Johari, “Sometimes they come for five minutes and they go out and never come back.”
Johari went on to lament how sometimes MPs are absent for days but he has no authority to penalise them, adding that it is unfair as lawmakers are supposed to attend proceedings to discuss issues pertaining to their constituency and their constituents.
“If they are absent for certain days continuously with no logical reason, I think the Speaker should (be able to) take action and punish them by not paying them their allowances,” he opined, saying that the idea will be brought before the House Committee which he chairs.
The committee consists of members from various political parties.
“Let me talk to them about whether that is possible or not,” he said, adding that he will bring this matter to the committee seeing how there is a call to do so now.
According to Johari, he has also been reading the comments left by netizens on social media, where they had raised the issue of absenteeism among the people’s representatives.
“They have been saying how come our MPs are absent for no reason, especially during Prime Minister’s Question Time on Tuesdays. That is when I think Parliament should have a full house because the Prime Minister is there,” he stressed.
The Prime Minister’s Question Time, which is held on Tuesdays, was introduced by the current administration when the 15th Parliament convened its first meeting in February.
“The PM is willing to answer. MPs should take advantage. And on Thursdays, you have Minister’s Question Time. This is when MPs should take advantage by coming,” Johari pointed out.
“It is embarrassing to raise this issue because I think they are mature enough to know their responsibilities.”
In the first meeting of the 15th Parliament, only 97 MPs recorded a perfect attendance.
Parliament Standing Order 13 states that there must be at least 26 MPs in the 222-seat Dewan for proceedings to be held.
Guidelines on decorum
Meanwhile, Johari also said Parliament will come up with guidelines on decorum in the House for MPs, adding that the matter was previously undertaken by Tan Sri Rais Yatim who had bowed out as Senate president after one term on June 15.
According to the Speaker, current Senate president Tan Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has given his commitment to present the guidelines by the end of this year, adding that proposals to introduce harsher fines for uncouth MP behaviours are a clear indication by him that the August house will no longer tolerate “nonsense”.
“When an MP walks into Parliament, they are paid by the taxpayers handsomely, receiving not just daily allowances but also lodging allowances and car loans, among others. So as an MP, you have to reciprocate the expectations of the people,” he told The Star.
“When you are in the House, I expect you to talk about substance and not nonsense.”
Johari asserted that when an MP heckles parliamentary sittings, they are not just wasting his time as the Speaker but also taxpayers’ money.
“It is my responsibility to ensure that this doesn’t continue anymore. I will talk about it with my two deputies. It will be tough this time around because I want MPs to take this seriously and I want them to behave,” he stressed- Aug 29, 2023
Main pic credit: The Star
