Wong Chen: 'Real democracy happens in parliamentary select committees'
One of the most important parliamentary reforms would be to strengthen and provide funding to parliamentary special select committees, Subang MP Wong Chen said.
This is because, he said, the ‘real democracy’ takes place in the special select committees, not during the debates in the Dewan Rakyat or even the Ministers’ Question Time...
One of the most important parliamentary reforms would be to strengthen and provide funding to parliamentary special select committees, Subang MP Wong Chen said.
This is because, he said, the ‘real democracy’ takes place in the special select committees, not during the debates in the Dewan Rakyat or even the Ministers’ Question Time.
“When Parliament is in session, in terms of policies, we can ask questions in Parliament and the minister can answer, whether in the Dewan Rakyat or in writing, and sometimes they can just simply answer.
“But in a select committee, we can call the ministers in and we can interview them for one or two hours,” Wong said in a webinar last night discussing the need to reopen Parliament under the Covid-19 pandemic.
The webinar, which was live-streamed on Facebook and jointly hosted by Bersih and Sinar Harian, featured Wong and Pengerang MP Azalina Othman Said as panellists, with political analyst Wong Chin Huat moderating the session.
Wong, who previously chaired the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on International Relations and Trade (Cirt), said his committee had no funding whatsoever, which greatly hampered their function.
The prime minister controls Parliament’s funding
This also traces back to Parliament not having enough funding, Wong said.
“If the Parliament does not have enough funding, it cannot act freely from the prime minister because the prime minister controls Parliament’s funding when there should be a separation of power,” he said.
While the special select committees are about check and balance, Wong also pointed out that all of them are led by government backbenchers.
“So, they are there to support the government, but there is an opportunity for us, as opposition, to give our recommendations as well. That is important.
“A lot of the rakyat do not understand this. They look at Parliament in session and they think that is our work.
“The actual power is during special select committee meetings when you have the full time of the minister.
“That is why we have to strengthen the special select committees and increase their funding,” Wong said.
Azalina, the Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker, called for the special select committees to continue their functions, even if Parliament cannot be reopened fully.
She said these committees would allow for regular engagement between the government and the MPs in the committees.
Such informal cooperation by MPs on both sides of the partisan can lead to more dialogue and better cooperation on government policies, Azalina said.
