Backbenchers Club head Shahrir Samad said the House Committee's approval was not necessary for the revival of the Parliamentary Services Act 1963 (PSA).

He questioned a reply from Minister in the Prime Minister's Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz who said today that the House Committee's approval must first be obtained despite all MPs having given their consent to the reinstatement.

"That's funny. Even if the House Committee meets and make a decision, they will also refer their decision in a motion to the House. But now we have already got the House to agree," he said.

"I think he (Nazri) should have just said that he will tell the Prime Minister (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) [...] There is a lot of nonsense in this thing," Shahrir said when met in his office.

The Johor Baru MP pointed out that the Hansard showed that when then law minister Syed Hamid Albar moved a motion on Oct 20, 1992 to repeal the PSA, the latter did not refer the decision as a proposal that came from the House Committee.

"So why suddenly there is this need to refer to the House Committee now?" he questioned, adding that it was irrelevant for the committee to look into the revival of the Act.

Differences hinted at

The House Committee, chaired by the Speakers of the Lower and Upper Houses, oversees matters related to services and amenities available to members of the House.

At the Dewan Rakyat this morning, Shahrir had asked Nazri - who oversees parliamentary affairs - to ask the government to reinstate the act immediately to allow Parliament to function better. He was supported by almost all the MPs present from both sides of the House.

At a press conference earlier, Shahrir said his call to revive the PSA was in connection with the aborted attempt by Nazri to set up a new 'Parliament Department' which later turned to be only a single administrative post.

He hinted at differences between the backbenchers and Nazri, when he said: "The power to initiate a legislation is with the Executive. If the Executive can't see the support today, then they may not be getting the right report."

He also revealed that backbenchers had met with Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on Monday to express their unhappiness over the 'Parliament Department' matter and wanted the Cabinet to discuss it.

He said MPs have requested for more support services, not the "bureaucratisation of the services".

A 'shame'

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang told malaysiakini that the House Committee of the Dewan Negara would meet tomorrow and was expected to touch on latest developments such as the appointment of an administration head and the revival of the PSA.

"But it will be a shame for the Dewan Rakyat if it is behind the Dewan Negara in discuss such an important matter," Lim said when contacted.

Lim also said that the Parliament's new administration head Kamaruddin Mohd Baria should not take up his controversial appointment and should stay put as the director-general at the National Service Training Department.

"The issue here is not about personalities, but about the important principle concerning the doctrine of separation of powers and parliamentary independence, autonomy and effectiveness," he said.