KUALA LUMPUR: Parliamentary Special Select Committee chairmen are being allowed to present their reports in the Dewan Rakyat for the first time as part of checks and balances to the executive.
Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul said the respective chairmen could brief MPs on their reports, as well as explain their roles and functions in handling current issues.
"I will (henceforth) allow explanations to be given by the chair of (each committee).
"This is unprecedented, and... the first time we are elevating the role of the select committees.
"I urge the chairmen to play a more active role in ensuring that this House functions as a check and balance to the executive," he said in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Dec 4).
The move is in line with Standing Order 14 (1) (L) read together with Standing Order 25, he added.
Each chairman will have seven minutes to make their presentation, followed by responses from four MPs – two from the government and two from the Opposition.
Each MP will have three minutes to speak, and the committee chairman would then have five minutes to respond.
Special Select Committee on Domestic Trade, Entrepreneurship, Cost of Living and Agriculture chairman Cha Kee Chin (PH-Rasah) was the first to present his report on the potential of the hybrid cattle industry.
