'Ubah' rings hollow in Parliament

While it was certainly amusing to hear these terms from the usually-stern Pandikar, his message was serious and pertinent.

Political observers and analysts have long called for ‘change’ in Parliament: Having less emotive squabbles and more substantive debates.

But some of the journalists that Astro Awani spoke to covering Dewan Rakyat, were not too impressed by the start and first week sitting of the 13th Parliament.

“It’s more of the same: Shouting, politicking, finger pointing. Nothing much has changed,” said one veteran newsman.

Last week, Pandikar, as usual, had to ask MPs to take their seats to painstakingly repeat that he wants to see them behave themselves and stick to the rules under the parliament Standing Order.

To put it bluntly, parliamentarians were being asked to ‘grow up’.

On Thursday, Pandikar also told off MPs for being too long-winded when asking supplementary questions during Q&A time.

“Make your supplementary questions concise and to the point, not make them flowery. That way we can go through more questions in the mornings,” he said.

Earlier this week, right after Pandikar was re-elected as the new Speaker, he asked for a more cultured Parliament that is of higher standards.

"Ayoh! Kita ubah, kita bereformasi, kita bertransformasi, kalau bukan siapa lagi, kalau bukan sekarang bila lagi? Ini kali lah!" (We should change, reform, transform, if not now, when? This is the time!)

Urging MPs to change their attitudes for the betterment of the people, Pandikar asked for MPs to have ‘good temper’ and to be more moderate.

Even before the Pakatan Rakyat’s speaker candidate, former Federal Court judge Datuk Abdul Kadir Sulaiman lost, Opposition MPs objected to the balloting process, saying that it should by right be secret.

While the matter was of importance, a journalist noted the haphazard manner the matter was raised: “If you wanted to question the process, do it politely and properly, not just stand and blabber.”

The matter was ignored. Pandikar latter explained that under Article 59 of the Federal Constitution, MPs who have not sworn in as lawmakers cannot raise a point of order.

With the Black505 put behind but issues surrounding contentious 13th General Election, including the ‘edible’ indelible ink issue, still being brought up, it is unlikely that Pakatan will stop ‘questioning the results of GE13’.

At the same time, BN MPs will also most probably continue to jab at Pakatan, going with arguments like ‘losing means losing’.

The Administration of the Religion of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill which was tabled for first reading is likely to cause some controversy next week.

It touches on the conversion of children into Islam, a long-standing issue which has recently been reignited when a Hindu child was converted by only one parent.

Other national issues that made its way into Parliament last week was the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which the government says it has yet to decide on a implementation date.

The ongoing talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) were also brought up, and International Trade and Industries Minister Mustapa Mohamad had declared there was no need to set up a parliamentary select committee to debate it.

Pakatan Rakyat may question the neutrality of the BN proposed Speaker, but his message of ‘change for the better’ is universal.