NOVEMBER 22 — In the United Kingdom (UK), the Speaker of the House of Commons — the Dewan Rakyat in Malaysia — is an MP who has been elected to be Speaker by other Members of Parliament (MP). The Speaker is no longer an MP once the House is dissolved, and vacates the office of the Speaker as well.
However, the Speaker retains responsibility for the management of the House by reason that he is the chair of the House of Commons Commission until a new Speaker is elected.
The Commission is responsible for the administration and services of the House of Commons, including the maintenance of the Palace of Westminster, and the rest of the Parliamentary Estate. https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/348/house-of-commons-commission/role/
In Malaysia, Article 57(1) of the Federal Constitution allows for the Speaker to be elected from among the elected MPs or a person who is qualified for election as an MP.
Unlike in the UK though, the Speaker no longer retains the responsibility for the management of the House. This is because the Speaker is no longer the co-chair of the Parliamentary Service Advisory Committee established under the Parliamentary Service Act 1963.
The Act established the Parliamentary Service with offices of the Clerk to the Dewan Negara and Clerk to the Dewan Rakyat and of other members of the staff of both Houses.
The Parliamentary Service has been abolished by the repeal of the Act vide the Constitution (Amendment) Act 1992 (Act A837).
Be that as it may, reference may be made to Section 28 of the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952 which states as follows:
“For the purposes of this Act, the person who fills the office of President of the Senate or Speaker of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, at the time of prorogation or dissolution of Parliament shall be deemed to be the President [or Speaker] until Parliament is again summoned or until another person has been chosen to be President of the Senate or Speaker of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, in accordance with Article 56 or 57 of the Federal Constitution.”
It may be argued, however, that the above is limited to the role of the Speaker for “the purposes of the Act” — that is, “relating to the powers and privileges of the Houses of Parliament, freedom of speech and debate or proceedings in such Houses and protection to persons employed in the publication of papers of such Houses.”
Accordingly, the Parliament Service has got to be re-established. This has been part of the calls for institutional reforms since the 14th General Election.
The new government must manifest its commitment to institutional reforms by re-establishing the Parliamentary Service or better, establish the Parliamentary Service Commission.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
