DAP’s Kluang lawmaker Liew Chin Tong has urged Parliament to sit for at least 80 days in every year.

Pointing out how Parliament’s main chambers have been re-opened after undergoing renovation works in the past three years, Liew said it was time that the government agreed to more sitting days.

“The main excuse given in the past three years to explain a shorter sitting year was the need for the temporary Parliament building to accommodate the needs of both the Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat, hence the need to reduce the days for sitting,” Liew said in statement today.

“Now that Parliament has separate facilities for Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat, I call on the minister responsible for Parliament, Azalina Othman Said, and speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia to commit to restoring Parliament sitting to at least 80 days in a year.

“This is to provide ample time for MPs to debate and deliberate on matters important to the nation and to reduce late night and midnight sittings which are not conducive,” Liew said.

The DAP leader cited records showing that Parliament sat for 79 days in 2008, 72 days in 2009, 83 days in 2010, 63 days in 2011, 70 days in 2012, 51 days in 2013, 57 days in 2014, 61 days in 2015 and 53 days in 2016.

For this year, the Dewan Rakyat is scheduled to sit for 57 days, he added.

Liew compared this with the Australian and United Kingdom parliaments, which usually sit for at least 150 days in a year.

Parliament, in April last year, rejected an emergency motion brought by PKR lawmaker Sim Tze Tzin, who requested to discuss the need to extend its sitting days.

The motion was rejected by Pandikar “as it does not involve public interest, only the interest of lawmakers”.

Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz had argued that lawmakers cannot just rely on their allowances as MPs to support their families.