Special Select Committee set up for anti-party hopping Bill bound by motion passed in Parliament, says Wan Junaidi

KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 — In response to former Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Mohamad Ariff Md Yusoff’s statement regarding anti-party hopping laws, de facto law minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the former must understand the need to set up a Special Select Committee under Standing Order 81 (1).

In a statement, Wan Junadidi said the Special Select Committee set up under this Standing Order is bound by the motion passed in Parliament and by the Order of the House.

Standing Order 81(1) reads as follows:

“81. (1) A Select Committee other than the Committee of Selection, the Public Accounts Committee, the Standing Orders Committee, the House Committee and the Committee of Privileges shall be known as a Special Select Committee.

“It shall be appointed by order of the House and, subject thereto, shall consist of such members as may be nominated by the Committee of Selection,” he said.

Based on the above, Wan Junaidi said a Special Select Committee is different from an ordinary Select Committee or a Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

“The Special Select Committee over the years in the past has always been chaired by ministers and I was appointed by the Cabinet to chair this Special Select Committee.

“Addressing Tan Sri Ariff’s statement that there is already a precedent like the setting up of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chaired by an MP from the Opposition, I would like to stress that the issue is not who chairs the Special Select Committee, but whether the chairman has sufficient knowledge and experience to steer the discussion in a proper direction.

“It is also not about the ability to draft laws but it’s about the acceptability of the drafted Bill.

“Besides that, we need to understand that the PAC has its own powers vested through Standing Order 77, the Special Select Committee on the other hand does not have such powers and relies fully on the Motion passed under the Order of House under 81 (1),” he said.

He also reiterated that the independence of the Committee is left in the hands of the chairman and this is not based on whether he is from the government or Opposition.

The independence of the Special Select Committee can also be questioned if it’s chaired by the Opposition, he added.

“Ultimately it’s the responsibility we have to our country to ensure a proper law is drafted that is ‘fit for purpose’ and will benefit the ‘rakyat’,” he said.

On April 16, Mohamad said the parliamentary special select committee on the amendments to the Constitution pertaining to anti-party hopping laws should be headed by the most qualified member across political lines.

He reportedly said that having a de facto law minister as the committee chairman should not happen to ensure independence.