Friday, November 09, 2012 - 14:58
INDIVIDUALS who are not members of the lower
house – the Dewan Rakyat – will no longer be allowed to use lobby
facilities specially designated for MPs to conduct press conferences,
the Speaker announced today.
In a move that has been festering in
the background for the past few weeks, Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin
Mulia said that he found it "embarassing" that outsiders are conducting
the press conferences with the Parliament logo clearly visible in the
background.
In past practice, anyone is allowed to hold a press
conference in the Parliament lobby, on condition that an MP accompanies
them.
Pandikar put his foot down to deny any outsider the priviledge of
using the facilities but said outsiders are allowed to speak to the
press at "any other corner" in the Parliament, as long as they do not
use MP facilities.
"You are allowed to come in, as a guest. But
do not utilise the facilities that are set aside for MPs," said
Pandikar, who had earlier announced the move to MPs citing Standing
Order 93 and 94.
"The area surrounding the Dewan Rakyat still comes under the power and watch of the Speaker," he said.
The
move comes in the back of a petition by the media requesting Parliament
authorities to stop allowing non-MPs from conducting PCs. Around 76
members of media stationed on Dewan Rakyat duties had signed the
petition.
It was only last week that PKR strategy director Rafizi
Ramli used the Parliament lobby to conduct a press conference to level
an allegation against Minister in the Prime Minister Department Datuk
Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz's son, Nedim Abdul Aziz. Nazri also happens to the
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs.
"It's not like this in any
other Parliaments across the world. In some Parliaments, the press
cannot mingle with any of the MPs within a vicinity. You are not even
allowed to touch facilities that belongs to only MPs," Pandikar told
reporters during a press conference at his Ante Chamber office.
On
if Malaysian Parliament regulations were more lenient compared to its
global counterparts, Pandikar replied in the affirmative, adding "but
it's our culture – our culture to let people inside."
Pandikar presented a booklet containing photographs of instances
where commoners conducted PCs under the presence of a MP at the lobby,
and went on to admit that "most of" the occurrences involved opposition
members.
However, BN backbenchers have also conducted PCs by
inviting outsiders before. Last month, Khairy Jamaluddin (Rembau) and P.
Kamalanathan (Hulu Selangor) held a press conference with some
outsiders representing small and medium enterprises across the country.
Pandikar
said that he did not think the civilians who held press conferences in
the lobby were doing so because they had no other place to go to.
"It's
just that they come here as guests, purposely, because they know if you
do a press conference here you will get coverage. But I'm not stopping
journalists from asking questions to any visitor or guest here. That's
your job. Just don't use the (MP) facilities," he added. -
Malay Mail, 9/11/2011, No more PCs for non-MPs in Dewan Rakyat
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