Public appointments to be done by Parliament, says Liew
PARLIAMENT | The government is devising a mechanism to shift the jurisdiction of major public service appointments from the executive to the legislative, de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong said today.
"I have met all stakeholders to ensure and refine the mechanism to transfer (the power to appoint) to Parliament. This is pretty much active.
PARLIAMENT | The government is devising a mechanism to shift the jurisdiction of major public service appointments from the executive to the legislative, de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong said today.
"I have met all stakeholders to refine the mechanism to transfer (the power to appoint) to Parliament. This is pretty much active.
"I hope this can be done this year," he told the Dewan Rakyat during Minister's Question Time.
Pakatan Harapan had pledged in its manifesto to curtail the power of the office of the prime minister by shifting his prerogative to appoint the heads of public agencies to Parliament.
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Major Public Appointments, headed by Selayang MP William Leong, was formed for that purpose.
However, Leong had complained his committee did not take part in any major public appointment.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad (below) had previously said that the select committee had no force of law with regard to government appointments, and enabling this would require constitutional amendments.
Meanwhile, in a written reply to Fong Kui Lun (Bukit Bintang) today, Mahathir said Harapan's manifesto book did not specify what are the key posts in the country.
He said there was also no direct appointment of any key posts done by him so far as all appointments as chairpersons, members or chief commissioners to the MACC, Election Commission, Human Rights Commission, and Judiciary Appointment Committee, are done by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
"The prime minister also in giving advice to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (on related matters) is not bound to refer to the PSC as the suitable mechanism is still being finetuned to provide check and balance to the PSC on the selection of the said office bearers."
Mahathir said a special parliamentary committee for the appointment of key posts in the government is also studying to find the best mechanism for it to play its role in the appointments.
Until the mechanism and new legal structures for the matter are set up, he added that the current procedures will continue to be used to ensure the government operations are not disrupted.
In another development, Dewan Rakyat speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof (photo) is hopeful that the motion to the Parliament Accounts Committee (PAC) to conduct open proceedings will be tabled in the next Dewan Rakyat session.
“(It will be tabled) in the next session,” he told Malaysiakini when met at Parliament lobby.
The idea of PAC's open proceedings was first reported in August 2018.
In October 2018, PAC deputy chairperson Wong Kah Woh filed a motion to suspend a rule to prevent PAC from opening its proceedings to the public.
For the change to happen, the House needs to do away with Order 85 of the Standing Order. The process is being handled by the Standing Order Committee headed by Ariff.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
This action cannot be undone.