KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 — Dewan Negara president Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran today proposed for more Senate representation from states, and asked that the current number of two senators per state be increased to three.
In his speech at the launch of the Dewan Negara Reforms Agenda Roundtable, Vigneswaran argued that increasing the number is important to better represent and address issues affecting each state.
“This is because, with the appointment of senators from states in Malaysia, indirectly, it makes our Dewan Negara a de facto territorial based upper house, like in other countries which practise the bicameral parliamentary seats,” he added.
He had also quoted International Islamic University of Malaysia’s law academic Shamrahayu Aziz to back his argument that the decision would be in line with the original intention of forming the Dewan Negara.
Vigneswaran said that it is also important to review senators’ tenure of service to ensure the interest of the states and the residents they represent in the senate, can be heard in the national arena.
“Therefore I propose that this roundtable discuss seriously, about increasing the membership of the Dewan Negara from state representatives,” Vigneswaran said.
He added that since the beginning of the senate in 1959, the number of senators appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had increased from 16 to 44 members today, but there has been no changes in the number of appointees from the states.
In his speech, Vigneswaran also called for senators to be given increased responsibilities to battle perception that they don’t do much.
The first term Dewan Negara president said that this was because unlike MPs, senators do not have constituencies to look after, and the government can therefore tap into their experience.
He also proposed for additional days during senate meetings to enable its members to table motions to address current issues, adding that the said sessions can be held concurrently during Dewan Rakyat sessions, allowing ministers to participate.
