Currently, the number of days that the lower house is convened is left to the discretion of the prime minister.
In 2023, the Dewan Rakyat sat for a total of 74 days, including special sittings.
Subang MP Wong Chen said increasing the number of sitting days will make the government more accountable.
Ideally, he said, the house should sit for 80 days this year, with the number increased over the next two years to reach 100 days annually.
“More importantly, we need these sittings to be for shorter periods but more frequent – not long sittings separated by many months apart.
“These Parliament days should be divided into blocks of two weeks, and then a two-week break before resuming. To allow ministers time to also perform their other duties, we can have the Parliament days to run from 2pm until 8pm,” he told FMT.
Meanwhile, Wong Chin Huat of Sunway University pointed out that the UK and Canadian parliaments sit for 120 and 135 days a year, respectively.
That makes being an MP in those countries a “full-time job”, he said.
“In Malaysia, MPs spend only a fraction of time in the House, as if it is only a part-time job.
“We should have at least 100 days, and at least one-eighth or a quarter should be demarcated as non-governmental business time for which the opposition and the government backbenchers set their agenda,” said Chin Huat.
Otherwise, he said, Parliament would be merely a “seasonal workplace”. “Then we cannot complain about having inexperienced or incompetent ministers.”
Chin Huat said the fewer sitting days have resulted in there being less available time to debate bills, reports and motions. He also said the quality of debates suffers whenever sittings are extended into the night.
In addition, fewer sittings mean there is less time available for MPs to make oral parliamentary queries, he said.
Both Wong Chen and Chin Huat said the number of House sittings can be fixed by amending the Parliamentary Standing Orders.
The duo were commenting after FMT reported that Parliament is scheduled to meet for 69 days this year, with the first sitting set to take place from Feb 26 until March 27.
Constitutional expert Shad Saleem Faruqi previously said there was a need to increase the number of parliamentary sittings to enable Parliament to perform its role better.