Malaysian Parliament Must Not Be Distant From The People - Speaker

SUNGAI PETANI, March 8 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Parliament must not be distant from the people; instead, the people need to be informed about the roles and actual functions of the institution, says Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul.

"People, especially in rural areas, do not know the role of Parliament...Parliament is seen as a place where MPs gather, argue, bang tables, fight, and insult one another... whereas Parliament is a noble place where laws are made.

"The Malaysian Parliament cannot be distant from the people..any decision in Parliament not only reaches the government but also needs to reach the grassroots..that's why the people need to know the true role of Parliament," he said while speaking during a pre-Ramadan event in the Sungai Petani Parliamentary constituency here, today.

He said the live broadcast of the Dewan Rakyat sitting, for example, provided exposure to the people about what happens in Parliament and the role played by the Members of Parliament (MPs) elected by the people.

"The people can judge. We don't want the people to only evaluate the performance of their MPs every five years before elections, but we want to see whether our representatives speak on our behalf on matters we want them to address,” he said.

Earlier, Johari presented raya donations to 20 children aged between four and six years from the Insan Berkat childcare centre in Kampung Sungai Jagung near here.

At the event which was also attended by Sungai Petani MP Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari, about 300 asnaf (zakat recipients) from the Sungai Petani Parliamentary constituency also received donations in the form of daily necessities.

-- BERNAMA