Maha Balakrishnan said it was no longer practical for the government to maintain sole control over the matter.
“The Dewan Rakyat is no longer controlled by one party or a single coalition,” she said, referring to the lack of a dominant party in the current make-up of the lower house.
The last general election resulted in a hung parliament, following which a unity government was formed by Pakatan Harapan (PH) with the help of several other coalitions and parties.
Previously, when Barisan Nasional was the only dominant political force, decision making, including the number of sittings, was subject to the “de facto control of the government”.
Maha was commenting on a FMT report that the number of days that Parliament sits each year is at the prime minister’s discretion.
Parliament will meet for 69 days this year, with the first sitting set to take place from Feb 26 until March 27.
Maha said allowing MPs, including those from the opposition, to set the number of Dewan Rakyat sittings would indirectly help in making the government more accountable.
The lower house provides an opportunity for MPs to question the government, a role which became more relevant in the wake of scandals involving public funds, such as that of 1MDB, she said.
“But it is difficult for MPs to utilise the authority of Parliament when the power to convene Parliament and to control the agenda of the house is in the hands of the government.”
Subang MP Wong Chen of PKR and political scientist Wong Chin Huat suggested that the Dewan Rakyat sittings be fixed at 100 days per year, which could be implemented by amending the Parliament Standing Orders.
Wong Chen said a 100-day sitting would help make the government “more accountable” while Chin Huat said the duration would ensure that MPs had a “full-time job instead of a seasonal one”.
“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 the agenda,” he added.
Former Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah meanwhile said a 100-day sitting was good and that it was in fact advocated by PH in its manifesto for the 15th general election.