The Information Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir has been quoted as saying that the government had decided not to provide live telecasts of parliament sittings as it is too costly and time consuming.

Since when did cost become a factor when it comes to live telecasts? We have had so many live telecast of events in Malaysia and I never heard the Information Ministry complain about costs before.

Further, the money that RTM would spend for the live telecasts of parliamentary sittings (if ever there's going to be one) comes from the taxpayers, so it is going to be money well spent.

I am sure many Malaysians would like to follow their parliamentary sittings live on TV and see for themselves the performance or non-performance of their MPs.

In fact, if all members of the new cabinet are willing to forgo some of their hefty allowances, the money saved could partly pay for these live telecasts.

By disallowing live telecasts of parliament sittings, could it be that the government is a bit fearful of bad publicity should any of its junior ministers or parliamentary secretaries fare badly when they cross swords with seasoned politicians from the opposition?