Tun M should be taken to task for repealing PSA: Pandikar

KUALA LUMPUR: The opposition should ask former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to apologise for repealing the Parliamentary Services Act (PSA) during his tenure, said Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia.
He said he was saddened to see that the Mahathir – opposition pact had called for efforts to uphold the Parliament institution, but failed to see that the former premier was the one responsible for eroding the institution's independence.
"If I were Gelang Patah (Lim Kit Siang) or Permatang Pauh (Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail), I would ask Mahathir to apologise first," he said.
"In 1992 when he was in power, the PSA, which is important in any Parliament in the world, was repealed," he told a press conference at the Parliament building here.
After the Act was repealed, many federal lawmakers had called for the restoration of PSA to allow the institution to run its affairs independent of the government.
Since 1992, government agencies had been staffing and maintaining the Parliament.
Pandikar said the Act would ensure the separation of powers of the legislative body from the influence of the executive and judiciary organs.
He added a meeting held between opposition lawmakers and Mahathir in Parliament recently should have questioned the matter if they were serious in upholding the legislative institution.
Pandikar also refuted Mahathir's claim that the Parliament was no longer independent and has been influenced by the decision of government.
As a speaker, he said, he had always allowed for both government and opposition lawmakers to speak, as long as they follow the Standing Orders.
"If the lawmakers debate without following the Standing Orders or Speaker's rulings, then they would be asked to stop," he said.
Pandikar said it was not true that Parliament today is not democratic as during the times of Mahathir.