-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the list for the Democratic Action Party of Malaysia. To subscribe,
send "subscribe" in email body to <bungaraya-request@...>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------


Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader and DAP MP for Ipoh Timor Lim
Kit Siang at the opening of the Nalla N/V DAP Branch on Sunday, 9.10.
2005:

Call on all MPs whether Barisan Nasional or Opposition to take a common
stand to oppose establishment of Department of Parliament which will turn
Parliament into a government department like the ACA
==========================

All Members of Parliament, whether Barisan Nasional or Opposition, should
take a common stand to defend parliamentary independence and the doctrine
of separation of powers by opposing the establishment of Department of
Parliament, which will turn Parliament into a government department like
the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA).

At present, the head of Parliament administration is the Setiausaha
Parliament who is answerable only to the Speaker and Parliament. When a
Department of Parliament is established, the Setiausaha Parliament will
suffer a double demotion of powers and functions as he will cease to be
the top-ranking administrative and parliamentary officer, having to be
answerable to a new Director-General for the Department of Parliament,
who will in turn be responsible to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s
Department.

The Malaysian Parliament will have the dubious distinction of being the
only parliamentary system where Parliament is downgraded so blatantly
into a department of the Executive, totally repugnant to the doctrine of
separation of powers among the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary which
the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had pledged to
uphold in his first official maiden speech as Prime Minister in
Parliament on November 3, 2003.

I am shocked that the first person to come out in support of a Department
of Parliament which will turn Parliament into a government department is
none other than the Chairman of the Barisan Backbenchers Club, Datuk
Shahrir Abdul Samad, who expressed the hope that “the department’s
director-general would improve the administration and support services”
in Parliament. (NST 7.10.05)

I call on Shahrir to lead Barisan Nasional MPs to work with Opposition MPs
to oppose the establishment of a Department of Parliament and the
appointment of a Director-General of the Department of Parliament so as
to protect the little that is left of parliamentary independence and
autonomy.

Shahrir should not forget that he was Chairman of the Commonwealth
Parliamentary Association (CPA) about two decades ago, and it is most
shocking and completely unacceptable to Malaysian, Commonwealth and world
Parliamentarians that a former head of CPA could support the very notion
of the usurpation of Parliament’s distinct role, powers and functions by
turning it into a government department like the ACA.

-Lim Kit Siang
-http://limkitsiang.blogspot.com
-http://limkitsiang.com


----------------------------------------------------------------
This e-mail has been sent via JARING webmail at http://www.jaring.my

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Email DAP at <dap.malaysia@...>
* DAP National Homepage <http://dapmalaysia.org/
* Bungaraya Archives are available at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bungaraya/
* To unsubscribe, send a message with "unsubscribe" in the body to
* <bungaraya-request@...>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------