The Dewan Negara president said the Dewan Rakyat should be empowered to call upon the government to table papers on bilateral or multilateral treaties, agreements or arrangements with other countries.

Similar processes should be carried out on withdrawals from any treaties and agreements as well, he added.

Wan Junaidi made the proposal following Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s recent signing of two treaties related to maritime borders in the Straits of Melaka and Sulawesi Sea.

He said that MPs and the public were left in the dark about the treaties.

“If we tabled it in Parliament, at least it would be debated so that (the MPs) and the public will know (about it),” he said during a forum at Sunway University.

“… (This) is a major national matter.”

Anwar’s signing of the treaties became a hotly debated issue in the Dewan Rakyat last month when he was pressed by Kota Bharu MP Takiyuddin Hassan to provide an assurance that the treaties would not affect sovereign rights and harm the country, especially in terms of maritime economic activities in the long run.

Anwar then said that national sovereignty was not compromised as the treaties only involved the borders agreed upon by both parties and those under dispute such as Pulau Sebatik in Sabah.