Reports by MARTIN CARVALHO, FATIMAH ZAINAL and ASHLEY TANG
SENIOR government officers should be compelled to testify before parliamentary select committees when they are asked to do so, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Pengerang MP said that there were currently no rules in the Standing Orders to compel government officers to do so.
“There is a large lacuna in the Standing Orders with regard to the matter on whether letters issued by the committees are merely invitations or subpoenas.
“Many officers do not feel compelled to attend. The officers may attend the hearings out of respect based on the invitation by the committee,” she said when debating the motion of thanks on the Royal Address.
Azalina, a former minister in charge of Parliament and law and former Deputy Speaker, raised the issue in connection to a recent clarification by Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun on a letter sent to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki for him to appear before the Special Select Committee on Agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department.
The committee had written to Azam to attend a hearing in January in relation to the controversy involving the purchase of shares by his brother using his (Azam’s) account.
Standing Order 83(2) does not state that an individual needs to be subpoenaed to appear before the committee, it merely requires that a letter be sent to invite the person to do so.
Azalina urged Parliament to relook the Standing Orders to address the “loophole”.She said any amendment to the Standing Orders should also take into account what government officers were able to divulge when appearing before a parliamentary committee.Azalina added that this was crucial as officers were bound by oath under the Official Secrets Act not to divulge classified information.
“This is important so that MPs in the committee will know what questions can be asked,” she said, noting that parliaments in Australia, United Kingdom and Canada had such guidelines.