TRANSPARENCY and ACOUNTABILITY
One observation is that our Prime Minister sometimes do not ANSWER questions properly - he should be answering what was asked. But, sometimes he just avoids giving a clear answer - and talking about other things - HENCE, at the end of the day, NOBODY knows what exactly was the PM's answer.
PM QUESTION TIME in Parliament - apparently that too may big a propaganda - NOT real?
The Perikatan Nasional chief whip said the list only contained two questions for Anwar, both from government MPs...Takiyuddin pointed out that this was not the first time the opposition’s questions were left out. “When we submitted our questions for the Oct 30 (Minister’s Question Time), none of our questions got listed. Nov 4, which was last week, was also the same. And then today, Nov 11.
So, the QUESTIONS - are the 'difficult' questions being 'censored' - and by whom - is it the Speaker or some others?
Takiyuddin further claimed that the list of questions was not decided by the speaker but chosen by the minister in charge of Parliament. Johari denied this, stressing that it was within his purview.
How can the SPEAKER censor questions to the PM? Do we take the Speaker to Court for abuse of his powers, or do we need another mechanism. The Speaker MUST act INDEPENDENTLY - just chair the meeting - and not censor questions. Speaker decides who speaks - should we have an AI system to remove Speaker bias?
What is the USE if the PM does not answer the Oppositions questions during PM Question Time. Very FEW government MPs ask good questions...
The problem of some Government MPs is that they sometimes ask 'bad questions' - sometimes about information that could be easily obtained even online from government websites...sometime questions for Minister/PM to just add on about the 'good' the government is doing. SO, sometimes, some Government MPs do WRONG - ARE THEY asking questions just to 'WASTE TIME' or to just finish up the number of questions that is allocated... So, is the Opposition's Questions being left out intentionally/wrongly - Hence, denying Parliament's Role to act as a Check and Balance to the PM/Executive.
2nd - Questions to PM or Ministers should not always require the prior submissions of questions - There must be room to raise EMERGENCY questions then and then - questions immediately after FIFA dismissed FAM's appeal, about US-Malaysia Trade(which is VERY URGENT as it will come into FORCE soon..) ...
SPEAKERS - it is best that a SPEAKER is 'INDEPENDENT" and not be pro-government or pro-Opposition...Lot of power - they also decide who gets to speak. REFORMS - maybe a SPEAKER must require the support of two thirds of MPs....and there must be provision for removal of Speaker...
QUESTIONS - maybe a more transparent system - the moment any MP submits a Question, it must immediately be listed in the Parliament website - then, we can ensure that questions are not 'censored' or removed.
SECOND, MPs at the beginning of question time have the right to ask certain questions to be prioritized... and a majority vote of all present decides - not the Speaker alone.
It is SAD that what happens in the Malaysian Parliament is still generally ignored by the masses, and even the media - WHY? Because of the lack of proper debate (where MPs listen and not try to disrupt), because of the lack of clear answers in Parliament by PM/Ministers
GOOD - finally the written questions and answers is on Malaysian Parliament website - but it is so difficult to find what you are looking for. - BUT IMPROVE THE SEARCH ENGINE
Say, you want to search questions and answers on the police, or the Immigration, or the FIFA-FAM issue, KWSP, SARA, - you cannot find anything - because you apparently need to mention date, or name of MP who asked the question - IT IS NOT USER FRIENDLY - it is useless - it must be made EASIER so people can search whatever they are interested in like Workers(Pekerja), Unions(Kesatuan), Farmers(Petani), Sedition, SOSMA, Death Penalty...
The Search engine should be updated to facilitate subject or name search... if I search for Saifuddin Nasution- then all question/answers and places where the name appears shall appear... Then, it is easy.
DOES PM ANWAR IBRAHIM still enjoy the confidence of the majority of MPs - a very important question. Why can't we have a TRANSPARENT indicator on the Parliamentary Website - which list all MPs, and their VOTE of CONFIDENCE (which only the particular MP can change) - which will list all the TIME the amount of confidence still enjoyed by the PM - of course, it will change from time to time - but the moment if drops below 50% - that is when the PM should resign & a FORMAL VERIFICATION be done - does Anwar still have the confidence of the majority of the MPs.
This 'POLL' will also alert the PM that he is not doing the right thing - and that he may have to do better if he wants to retain the confidence of the majority...
PARLIAMENT | Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul this morning blasted the opposition for saying they have the right to have their questions answered by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during the Minister’s Question Time.
This occurred during an exchange between Johari and Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu), who stood up just before the session began and objected to the list of questions for today.
The Perikatan Nasional chief whip said the list only contained two questions for Anwar, both from government MPs.
On Tuesday and Thursday, the Dewan Rakyat session will start with the Minister's Question Time, with Anwar making it a customary practice to attend and answer questions on Tuesday.
Takiyuddin pointed out that this was not the first time the opposition’s questions were left out.
“When we submitted our questions for the Oct 30 (Minister’s Question Time), none of our questions got listed. Nov 4, which was last week, was also the same. And then today, Nov 11.
"For the record, Putrajaya MP had submitted a question for today's (session) on Nov 10, which was within (ample) time.
"We don't think the prime minister is someone who can't handle questions. He could even answer questions at a pasar malam (night market) in Sabah," the PAS lawmaker said.
Speaker’s decision
Takiyuddin further claimed that the list of questions was not decided by the speaker but chosen by the minister in charge of Parliament.
Johari denied this, stressing that it was within his purview.
He said he had to be fair in his decisions, and pointed out that the opposition had only submitted one question for today, compared to eight from government MPs.
Johari added that all the questions from the opposition had already been answered by the prime minister before.
"My question now is, is it fair for me to allow you to send just one question? There were eight questions (from the government bench), of course, I gave (priority) to those who submitted more.
"There was no issue of whether (they came from) the opposition or otherwise. Unless this happens when your side submitted eight, this side also submitted eight, then it makes sense (for you to raise an issue)," he said.
In response, Takiyuddin told Johari that the speaker “shouldn’t deny our right” and insisted that regardless of how many questions the opposition submitted, “we have a right”.
This led Johari to reprimand the PN leader.
"You have no right! The right is on me.
"I am the one who will decide. You have no right at all," Johari said.
Takiyuddin then backed down but said the speaker should treat both sides equally, to which Johari advised the opposition to send more questions for his consideration.
‘I won’t evade questions’
Later, when Anwar began answering questions, the premier agreed with Johari on the matter, saying the questions submitted by PN had been answered many times before.
"If you want to accuse me of evading, I am not. You can ask me any question, I won't run away.
"This is something that Kota Bharu has to hear. I will not evade any question. But if we have already answered it before, then you should read the content of the agreement 5.2, 7.3 and such here.
"If they are absent, that is a different story," he said.
It is believed that Anwar was referring to the Malaysia-US reciprocal trade agreement, which had been a point of contention between the opposition and Putrajaya.
Reporting by Hariz Mohd, Alyaa Alhadjri and Haspaizi Zain - Malaysiakini, 11/11/2025
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