There will be no live telecasts of Parliament sittings as it is too costly and time consuming, said Information Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir today.

According to Bernama , he said it will cost the state-owned Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) RM100,000 to screen an hour of the sitting.

In view of this, he added that the government has decided that it is not a viable idea.

However, Abdul Kadir said there will be live telecasts when parliament deliberated on important issues.

The idea was mooted by DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang, who is most likely to be appointed as Parliamentary opposition leader.

His suggestion was earlier shot down by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.

Nazri, who oversees parliamentary affairs, said live telecasts of the sittings could have a negative impact.

"I will recommend to the prime minister not to agree to this proposal. There are more negative consequences rather than positive outcomes," he added.

Deserted House

Nazri said based on similar live telecasts in countries like Taiwan and Britain, there was a tendency for certain quarters to play to the gallery.

"There are scenes of MPs fighting in some countries. We don't want the people to watch such things here...furthermore there are times when the house may look deserted because the quorum is only 26," he added.

He said MPs could not be expected to sit throughout the proceedings that could take up to six hours as they also needed time for refreshments and to carry out other responsibilities.

Last week, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamed Zahir Ismail said the 11 th Parliament will convene on May 17.

The 14-day sitting, scheduled to end on June 8, will begin with the appointment of the Speaker, his deputy and the newly elected parliamentarians.

Mohamed Zahir said the second session would be from July 5 to July while next year's budget will be tabled on Sept 10.

Renovations are also being carried out in the Dewan Rakyat to accommodate 25 new MPs following the re-delineation of election boundaries. Previously, there were 194 elected representatives.