CONFERENCE OF PARLIAMENTARY AND LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY SPEAKERS IN MALAYSIA 2017
13 MEI 2017
The delegation of Speakers and Deputy Speakers representing the Federal Parliament and other State Legislative Assemblies in Malaysia will be hosted by the Selangor State Legislative Assembly at the annual Conference of Parliamentary and Legislative Assembly Speakers Malaysia 2017. The Conference which aims to provide a platform of exchange will be held from Friday, 12 May 2017 to Sunday, 14 May 2017 at the Concorde Hotel, Shah Alam.
The first Speakers’ Conference of the Federation of Malaya was held in 1962 at that time in the Selangor State Legislative Assembly in Kuala Lumpur. This tradition was revived in 2014 in Malacca, then in Kuala Lumpur in 2015 and subsequently in Johor in 2016. This year, Selangor plays host to the theme of “Transforming Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies.”
First woman Speaker Hannah Yeoh and Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr. Shad Saleem Faruqi will jointly present a working paper in conjunction with the theme of transformation entitled – Towards a World Class Parliament: Proposals and Prospects. It is of major significance that the Selangor State Legislative Assembly has led the way having undertaken transformative reforms to strengthen the opposition by making it mandatory for the Opposition Leader to chair the Public Accounts Committee, to introduce Opposition Time and empower Select Committees in a bid to further improve check and balance mechanisms.
The Federal Parliament will present another paper entitled Transformasi Parlimen ke arah Memartabatkan Wadah Demokrasi. The idea for the theme of Parliamentary Transformation takes into account these reform proposals by the Federal Parliament on the following: Ministers’ Question Time, expanding the number of Select Committees and re-introducing the Parliamentary Services Act 1963 which will enable a clear separation of powers between Parliament and the Executive. These proposed reforms once implemented will strengthen the institution of Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies and their roles as gate keepers of democracy.
This Conference will be launched by Duli Yang Maha Mulia Sultan Selangor. It is hoped that the proposals presented during the Conference will serve as suitable best practices to be emulated by the Federal Parliament and respective State Legislative Assemblies.
It is also hoped that this effort would further enhance and strengthen the position of all the State Legislative Assemblies in Malaysia as a true platform to represent the needs of the people, bringing effective check and balance and holding governments accountable.
Hannah Yeoh
Speaker
Selangor State Legislative Assembly
