PETALING JAYA: The chairmen of the 10 parliamentary select committees have been allocated a special day to table reports concerning their portfolios in the Dewan Rakyat, in a historic first for the lower house.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul said this was aimed at boosting public knowledge of the functions and roles of the parliamentary committees in helping to address national issues, Bernama reported.
“Today marks a historic milestone in strengthening the accountability of the executive to Parliament, with one day allocated for briefing sessions by the chairmen of the select committees on the reports tabled in the Dewan Rakyat,” he said.
The 10 bipartisan parliamentary committees each have portfolios of their own, ranging from economy and finance to health, environment, human rights and security.
They are meant to be a check-and-balance mechanism reviewing the policies of the relevant ministries.