KUALA LUMPUR The Parliamentary Services Bill 2025 should be postponed and deliberated further first to ensure it will be fair to all the staff serving in Parliament as well as MPs, says an Opposition MP.
Mohd Misbahul Munir Masduki (PN-Parit Buntar) said that the Opposition did not fully reject the Bill but wanted the government to fine tune it first.
"That is why we abstained yesterday (March 4), despite several accusations levelled against us by government MPs, but that is our right.
"We do not oppose it, but we feel that the current bill is not properly 'cooked' and discussed thoroughly," he said while debating the Parliamentary Services Bill 2025 in Parliament on Wednesday (March 5).
On March 4, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the Opposition’s failure to vote for the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2025 at Dewan Rakyat shows their disinterest in supporting efforts to strengthen Parliament as an independent institution.
He expressed his disappointment at the actions of the 57 opposition MPs who abstained from voting to pass the bill.
The Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2025, which is one of the bills to revive the Parliamentary Services Act (PSA), was passed at the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday.
The Federal Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2025 and the Parliamentary Services Bill 2025 are in relation to the proposed revival of the PSA.
Mohd Misbahul Munir said that the function and the position of MPs were not clearly stated under the Parliamentary Services Bill.
"Four MPs will only be included in the parliamentary services council, two each from the Opposition and the government.
"But some of us wanted the Opposition leader to be included or the backbenchers chief to be part of the council.
"Then only they can play their role effectively," he said.
