Parliamentarians will not be getting complete booklets containing all parliamentary replies to unanswered oral questions on a daily basis this session, at least for now.

Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia said this is done in order to cut costs as well as space.

“Some of (the MPs) don’t have space on their tables. So they put it under their desks and step on it.

“Some of my staff stay here until 1am compiling the books and they just step on it,” Pandikar said at a press conference in the Parliament reception room today.

Instead, he said, MPs will only get the written replies to their own questions, and not those of others.

This is because he said only some MPs are interested in getting the whole book.

However, he said this is not his final decision on the matter.

He also said the book would be given to the media, and indicated that there might eventually be a shift to making written replies available online.

Parliamentary reply booklets contain answers to oral questions submitted by MPs that don't make it to the House floor during Question Time, which lasts from 10am to 11.30am.

The parliaments of other countries such as Singapore and the United Kingdom have already begun making the written replies available online.