Budget, appointment of PAC members highlights in second week of parliament sitting

KUALA LUMPUR: After all the hype and hullabaloo, this week’s parliament sitting took on a mundane note with members debating the Supply Bill 2016, while focusing on certain issues.

What is interesting is the ‘ happenings’ outside the august house where various announcements were made that attracted the media and netizens.

The first day of the week began with the announcement on the appointment of five members of the house — four from Barisan Nasional ( BN) and one from PAS -- as members of the Public Accounts Committee ( PAC) by the Select Committee.

The four BN members of parliament ( MP) are Datuk Dr Makin @ Marcus Mojigoh ( Putatan), Datuk Ahmad Hamzah (Jasin), Datuk Ir Nawawi Ahmad ( Langkawi) and Datuk Koh Nai Kwong (Alor Gajah).

They replaced the four PAC members who have been appointed to the Cabinet in July this year.

Another new PAC member appointed is PAS secretarygeneral Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan ( PAS- Kota Bharu) to replace Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar, who is now with Parti Keadilan Rakyat ( PKR).

The committee still maintained the membership of Tony Pua ( DAP- Petaling Jaya Utara), despite the various criticisms and calls for him to be dropped following his remarks against 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and also for allegedly exposing documents pertaining to the probe on the company.

PAC now has 14 members, including a new chairman, Datuk Hasan Arifin ( BN-Rompin).

The committee is expected to hold its first meeting this Monday.

The debate session on Budget 2016, although bland this week, saw several interesting issues raised, including by Datuk Dr Marcus Mojihoh ( BN- Putatan) who suggested that the allowance and other benefits enjoyed by members of the house to be deducted should they be suspended from Parliament sitting.

Another is by Datuk Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz ( BN-Tanah Merah), who suggested the government to set up a special unit to handle libelous remarks and postings on the social media that could undermine security, harmony and racial unity in the country.

A DAP member, Zairil Khir Johari ( Bukit Bendera) suggested that the government set up a sex offender registry to address the problem of child abuse, as well as pedophilia, which is on the rise.

Overall, this week’s debate focused on issues, which became heated sometimes when there were verbal exchanges, especially when government MPs criticised the opposition members for using the 1MDB issue to question the credibility of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. — Bernama