Padang Serai MP N Surendran today questioned the long duration Parliament takes to answer questions raised by lawmakers, and as a result of this, has decided not to pose any questions in protest.

Surendran, who is a PKR vice-president, said the Dewan Rakyat will begin its next session on June 9 and lawmakers have been told to submit their questions not later than May 19, which makes it more than a month before the questions are answered.

“This makes a complete farce and mockery of the role of Parliament as a check upon the government.

“MPs are unable to pose questions on topical and current matters due to the long delays before the questions are answered by the minister. By the time the questions come up, they are stale and pointless.”

As a result of this, Surendran said, lawmakers were not able to ask matters of urgent public interest because of the absurd and excessive notice period to file their questions.

Intention is to prevent scrutiny of government

“In the United Kingdom, the House of Commons allocates three days' notice before a question is answered. In Australia and Canada, questions can be asked without any notice,” he said.

“Opposition MPs have repeatedly called for the notice period to be shortened, but the BN government has deliberately refused to do so. The BN's intention is clearly to prevent effective scrutiny of the government by the opposition.

Reiterating that he would not pose questions to Parliament, Surendran said he does not want to be seen as legitimising a process that is intended to deceive the people into believing that their interests are being canvassed effectively in Parliament.

“Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and the BN government must take immediate action to amend Rule 22 of the Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders, which imposes this undemocratic 14-day requirement,” he said, adding he will continue to raise matters of public interest to his constituents by other means.