KUALA LUMPUR: Despite complaints from parliamentarians that Dewan Rakyat sittings have dragged on late into the night, Putrajaya has no plans to add more meeting days for the lower house.

“The government maintains its stand that the number of days allocated for the Dewan Rakyat sitting is enough to debate related issues,” Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim told Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar (PAS-Tumpat) in a written reply.

In the last sitting on April 7, the Prevention of Terrorism Act was passed at 2.25am after 14 hours of debate.

Amendments to the Sedition Act were passed on April 10 at 2.30am after more than 12 hours of heated debate.

On April 13, de facto law minister Nancy Shukri said she wants to see the system of having a parliamentary select committee and a law reform commission to facilitate the finalising of bills reintroduced.

She said the current system is not efficient and is causing difficulties for MPs.

“It is unfair for parliamentarians to be stuck in the Dewan Rakyat until 2am, 3am or 4am for three days in a row,” she said.

Shahidan is the minister in charge of Parliament, a post that Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said should be removed so that Parliament can be fully in charge of its own affairs. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 26, 2015.