KUALA LUMPUR, 5 Dec: Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders have urged the Parliamentary committee to improve the quality of debate in the Dewan Rakyat as it is unsatisfactory.
The Member of Parliament fo Ampang, Zuraida Kamaruddin, said that many issues raised by representatives of the people, especially from the opposition, were not answered clearly by the ministries responsible.
She said that sometimes, the debates are deliberately shortened to avoid further questions from representatives, especially if the issue attracts wide attention.
“I suggest for debate sessions to be prolonged so that every question raised can receive quality answers.
“The Parliamentary Department should also ensure that the minister should answer the questions brought up because they are more knowledgeable,” she said during a question and answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
This was supported by the Member of Parliament for Pokok Sena, Datuk Mahfuz Omar, who asked the Speaker to ensure that every ministry provides a written answer in advance for the representatives’ reference.
He said that most written questions brought up by representatives were not answered by the ministries responsible until the entire Dewan Rakyat debate session is over.
“We have already put forward the question since the beginning. So, ministries should have no problem in responding quickly.
“It is easier for every Ministry to provide answers to written questions from the first day of the session as reference to further debate. The Parliament or Speaker should negotiate with the government so that written answers must be placed on the table of representatives on the first day of the session,” he said.
This call was criticised by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (PMO), Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, who said that the quality of debate by Barisan Nasional (BN) representatives were far better compared to that of the opposition.