OCTOBER 26 — Debate and democracy are closely intertwined with each other to deliver a well-functioning democratic structure and strong political governance of which are central to the economic development in a country.
The legislative body in Malaysia, Parliament is responsible for passing, amending, and repealing acts of law, after going through a series of debates with the members of Parliament before it can be passed to become an Act.
As such, before any bill can be passed, it must be first debated. Hence, the Dewan Rakyat Standing Order (DRSO) is a set of rules made pursuant to Article 62(1) of the Federal Constitution to regulate the Parliamentary procedure.
Under the DRSO, a bill goes through readings in both houses. The bill is usually tabled before the Dewan Rakyat or Dewan Negara. It takes three (3) readings. This procedure falls under Order 48 of the DRSO.
The first reading is on the proposed bill. The second reading is where the MPs will discuss and debate on the proposed Bill. This is where the MPs can seek an explanation of the Bill and to propose or oppose the Bill. Finally, the third reading is when the proposed bill is submitted for voting.
Therefore we can see that, under the DRSO, orders 35 to 75 caters to the Rules of Debate, where, the standing order lays the manner, procedure, and the direction on how the proposed motion is debated.
Thus, the DRSO is the proof of how our democracy functions, where debates in Parliament will be telecasted and closely followed by the public.
An open debate before the election was never a practice in Malaysia but this is certainly a practice in other countries, like the United Kingdom. The newly elected British Prime Minister (PM) Rishi Sunak and ex-PM Liz Truss, had their debates on taxes, the soaring cost of living and other issues when they were running to replace Boris Johnson.
However, we can’t totally rule out the fact that Malaysia never had any open debate before. There was an open debate aired between Anwar Ibrahim and Najib Razak, a few months back, on the issue pertaining to Sapura Energy Sdn. Bhd.
Having said that, caretaker Prime Minister Ismail Sabri did mention that debate is not our culture, and such has never been done since it does not do any good.
Well, I beg to differ.
Perhaps as a progressive country and a democratic one, debating allows one to channel their thoughts for the development of the country. It shows the accountability in a leader.
When the debate is very much an integrated part of our Parliamentary system, why can’t it be practiced openly before the election?
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
