By Ravinder Singh

“Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia said he did not feel any regret that the Cabinet had only decided to accept three out of four suggestions for parliamentary improvements suggested by both BN and Opposition MPs.”

This was stated in a news report.

Is Parliament superior to the Cabinet, or does the Cabinet have overriding authority over Parliament?

What the Speaker has revealed is shocking to say the least. He is saying that Parliament is a body under the control and direction of the Cabinet.

How did this situation come about, where the Malaysian Parliament has become subservient to the Cabinet?

Suggestions for parliamentary improvements should have been debated in Parliament. Members of the Cabinet are also Members of Parliament.

A decision should have been taken by a secret vote of the parliamentarians in Parliament, not by a select few parliamentarians (the Cabinet members) and imposed on the rest of the parliamentarians.

The Cabinet cannot usurp the powers of Parliament and dictate what parliamentary improvements should or should not be made.

Parliament is the supreme authority in the country, not the Cabinet. So could the honourable Speaker give us laymen a lesson on the Cabinet’s control over Parliament?

Is the public wrong to have the perception that Parliament is a rubber stamp of the Cabinet?

I don’t suppose I am breaking any law by asking this question, or that this question is outlandish.

Ravinder Singh is an FMT reader.

With a firm belief in freedom of expression and without prejudice, FMT tries its best to share reliable content from third parties. Such articles are strictly the writer’s personal opinion. FMT does not necessarily endorse the views or opinions given by any third party content provider.