Parliament ponders allowance cut to tackle absenteeism among MPs

The Star

A cut in allowance for absent members of parliament is being considered, says Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul in an interview.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00 Hi, lawyer by name, young man.

00:03 Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul said in an interview recently

00:08 that there is a call for Parliament to tackle the issue of absent members of Parliament during the proceedings.

00:14 He said the idea of cutting the MP's allowance will be brought to the House Committee that he chairs.

00:20 In fact, there's a call by a former speaker to have the standing order amended.

00:29 If you do not come in a day, enough hours in a day, you might not even get your allowances.

00:35 I think that's a good idea.

00:36 You must have X amount of time that you spend in the Dewan.

00:40 Then you are only entitled and eligible for daily allowance.

00:44 We are paying them handsomely about 500 a day.

00:47 So sometimes they come in for five minutes, then they go out and they never come back.

00:51 And some are just totally absent for days, you know.

00:54 And I do not have the power to punish them.

00:58 Certainly I will talk with my colleague, and if need to be, I'll certainly introduce.

01:05 Let me talk to them, see whether that is possible or not.

01:10 He said the Prime Minister Question Time session on Tuesdays was introduced

01:15 when the 15th Parliament convened its first meeting in February,

01:19 while every Thursday the Ministers will also be in the Parliament to answer MPs' questions.

01:25 Especially during the PM Question Time on Tuesday,

01:29 that is where I think the Parliament should have a full house.

01:33 Because PM was there, and PM gives his time, and Choo Choo will be around.

01:38 And I will allow more than one question, additional question, if it needs to be.

01:43 It's quite embarrassing to raise this issue because I think they are mature enough

01:50 to know their responsibility.

01:52 The measure is seen as one of the reforms by Parliament to enhance the integrity of the institution

01:58 and the image of MPs in the country.

02:01 Thank you.

02:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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