Elected representatives should be courteous and graceful, and adopt eastern values while taking a firm position during debate in the Dewan Rakyat, said its Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia.

parliament pandikar amin anwar ibrahim lim kit siang dap pkr pc 121108 02 He said the act of yelling at one another during debate was not in keeping with the parliamentary behaviour and decorum.

"Do you have to be rude with one another like in other countries where fisticuff ensued to make the Malaysian Parliament world class?" he asked.

Speaking to reporters after opening the Golden Jubilee Malaysian Parliament Seminar today, he said the Dewan Rakyat would be world class if elected representatives become more mature in their behaviour and did not transgress the general order.

Drive home points rationally

He said members of the House of Commons, United Kingdom used to be abusive in 1940s but now they no longer quarrel with one other, instead they debated interesting issues.

Pandikar Amin said it was unbecoming of members of parliament to accuse the House of being cruel if they were not happy with the way the Speaker uphold and enforce the rules.

He said members of the House should not politicise issues for their own vested interest or merely to seek publicity.

Instead, they should drive home the points rationally by taking the interest of the people and the country at heart, he added.

"Elected representatives must maintain the standard of image adopted because their antics during debate are seen on television," he said.

The two-day seminar with the theme "Empowering the Parliamentary Institution" is organised by the Malaysian chapter of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association with the cooperation of Universiti Sains Malaysia's Social Science Faculty. - Bernama