KUALA LUMPUR: The government is open to a proposal to increase the number of parliamentary sitting days, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim.
"At the moment there are enough days in a parliamentary sitting for MPs to debate relevant issurs, but the hours of sitting will depend on the situation.
"On the matter of additional days, I will leave it to the House Committee and the Speaker to decide, but we are open to look into whether the number of days is sufficient," he said in response to a question by Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar (PAS-Tumpat).
Kamaruddin had compared the current sitting to that of the British House of Commons, which sat for 100 days this year, while the Dewan has only sat 51 days.
Shahidan responded by saying the sittings here had often been extended, sometimes until late at night, to complete proceedings.
On a comment by Zuraida Kamaruddin (PKR-Ampang) that the quality of debates will be affected due to lack of time, Shahidan said it was up to the MPs to ensure they were responsible for their own duties.
Meanwhile, Shahidan also said it might be made possible for MPs to receive written responses to advance questions on the first day of the sitting.
"God willing, we will speak to ministries to provide answers to written questions submitted by MPs before or on the first day of sitting," he said in response to a request by Datuk Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena).
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