Parliamentary Services Act 1963

Last updated
Parliamentary Services Act 1963
Dewan Ra'ayat
  • An Act to provide for the qualifications for appointment and conditions of service of members of the staff of House of Parliament.
CitationAct 394
Territorial extent Malaysia
Passed by Dewan Ra'ayat
Passed12 March 1963
Passed by Dewan Negara
Passed15 March 1963
Repealed20 November 1992
Legislative history
First chamber: Dewan Ra'ayat
Bill titleParliamentary Services Bill 1963
Introduced by Tunku Abdul Rahman, Prime Minister
First reading 11 March 1963
Second reading 12 March 1963
Third reading 12 March 1963
Second chamber: Dewan Negara
Bill titleParliamentary Services Bill 1963
Member(s) in charge Tunku Abdul Rahman, Prime Minister
First reading 15 March 1963
Second reading 15 March 1963
Third reading 15 March 1963
Repeals
Constitution (Amendment) Act 1992 [Act A837]
Status: Repealed

The Parliamentary Services Act 1963 (Malay : Akta Perkhidmatan Parlimen 1963, abbreviated PSA) was an act providing for the Parliament of Malaysia to conduct its own administration, staffing and financing. The act was repealed in 1992 after the then Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (the lower house of Parliament), Zahir Ismail unilaterally had it removed from the books.

However, a majority of Members of Parliament (MPs) called for the act to be revived in October 2005, when the issue of separation of powers was ignited in the Dewan Rakyat by opposition leader Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party (DAP). Earlier, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of parliamentary affairs, Nazri Aziz had announced the setting up of the post of Head of Administration for Parliament and (varyingly) a Department or Office of Parliament, to handle affairs such as maintenance and assistance for MPs. One MP from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition exasperatedly decried the amount of red tape required for MPs to hire research assistants, and another stated he was forced to use online websites such as Wikipedia for his research.

However, the MPs agreed that the post of Head of Administration for Parliament was unnecessary interference in Parliament's financial affairs, and asked for the restoration of the Parliamentary Services Act so Parliament could run its own affairs independent of the government. Since 1992, government agencies such as the Public Services Department and Treasury had been staffing and maintaining Parliament, as the parliamentary service advisory committee had been disbanded in the wake of the act's repeal.

Nazri insisted that the PSA would have to pass muster through both the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara (upper house of Parliament; also referred to as the Senate) House Committees before it could come to a vote in Parliament itself. This angered the MPs, and Shahrir Abdul Samad, the chairman of the Barisan Nasional Back-Benchers Club (BNBBC) called for all MPs in favour of immediately restoring the PSA to rise. A vast majority of MPs present rose, with some notable exceptions such as Nazri and Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, who had campaigned for the act's repeal in 1992.

Some were skeptical of how much effect reviving the act would have on Parliamentary independence; Nazri argued he couldn't "see any less independence among MPs in the last 13 years without the PSA", and constitutional scholar Shad Saleem Faruqi called it a "merely symbolic gesture". Shahrir himself reportedly acknowledged the PSA's repeal had not made a serious impact on Parliamentary independence.

Structure

The Parliamentary Services Act 1963 was consisted of 8 sections.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barisan Nasional</span> Political party coalition in Malaysia

The National Front is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in the Dewan Rakyat after Pakatan Harapan (PH) with 82 seats and Perikatan Nasional (PN) with 74 seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Action Party</span> Malaysian political party

The Democratic Action Party is a centre-left social democratic political party in Malaysia. As one of four component parties of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, it formed the federal government after defeating Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 2018 Malaysian general election, ending the party's 53 year-long stay in the opposition. However, before the coalition finished its first term, defections from partnering parties caused it to lose power after 22 months, culminating in the 2020 Malaysian political crisis. At the 2022 Malaysian general election, the PH coalition which the DAP was part of was returned to power again, albeit without a majority, leading it to form a unity government with political rivals. It is one of the four component parties of the Pakatan Harapan ruling coalition in Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of Malaysia</span> National bicameral legislature of Malaysia

The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King), as the head of state, is the third component of Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dewan Rakyat</span> Lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia

The Dewan Rakyat is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament, the federal legislature of Malaysia. The chamber and its powers are established by Article 44 of the Constitution of Malaysia. The Dewan Rakyat sits in the Houses of Parliament in Kuala Lumpur, along with the Dewan Negara, the upper house.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koh Tsu Koon</span> Malaysian politician

Koh Tsu Koon is a Malaysian politician. He was the Chief Minister of Penang from 1990 to 2008, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong from 1982 to 1986 and was appointed as a Senator from 2009 to 2015. A year after resigning as Chief Minister of Penang, Koh was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Department by Prime Minister Najib Razak. He was famously known for contributing in the Sungai Pinang campaign where he took almost 10 years and failed to complete it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shahrir Abdul Samad</span> Malaysian politician

Shahrir bin Abdul Samad is a Malaysian politician who was the Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (2008-2009), a Member of Parliament of Malaysia and the former chairman of the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BNBBC). He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the largest political component party in the former ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. In Parliament – specifically the lower house of Parliament of Malaysia, the Dewan Rakyat – he represented the constituency of Johor Bahru in the state of Johor for six non-consecutive terms..

Badruddin bin Amiruldin is a Malaysian politician. He is currently the Permanent Chairman of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the largest Malay political party in the country and the leader of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. Badruddin was also, until his defeat in the March 2008 General Elections, the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Jerai, Kedah in the lower house of Parliament, the Dewan Rakyat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz</span> Malaysian politician and diplomat

Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri bin Abdul Aziz is a Malaysian politician and diplomat who has served as Malaysian Ambassador to the United States since February 2023. He served as the Minister of Tourism and Culture from May 2013 to May 2018, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of legal affairs from March 2004 to May 2013, Minister of Entrepreneur Development from December 1999 to March 2004, Deputy Minister of Finance I from November 1996 to December 1999, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department from May 1995 to November 1996 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Padang Rengas from March 2004 to November 2022.

Datuk Mohammad Said bin Yusof was a Malaysian politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jasin from March 2004 to March 2008. He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

In the Parliament of Malaysia, the political parties appoint party whips to ensure party discipline, help manage legislative business and carry out a variety of other functions on behalf of the party leadership. The most important function of a government party whip is to ensure that sufficient number of members and senators are present to take part in voting in the chamber, to maintain a parliamentary quorum and to prevent censure motions succeeding. Their roles in the chamber include taking divisions, and arranging pairs which affect the ability of members and senators to leave parliament during sittings, as well as the entitlement to be absent during divisions.

General elections were held in Malaysia between Saturday, 8 July and Saturday, 22 July 1978. Voting took place in all 154 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant house of Parliament. State elections also took place in 276 state constituencies on the same day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakatan Rakyat</span> Political party in Malaysia

The People's Alliance was an informal Malaysian political coalition and successor to Barisan Alternatif (BA). The political coalition was formed by the People's Justice Party (PKR), Democratic Action Party (DAP), and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) on 1 April 2008, after the 12th Malaysian general election, having previously formed the Barisan Alternatif in the 10th general election. On 20 April 2010, the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) officially joined as a member of the Pakatan Rakyat after being expelled from Barisan Nasional, but quit the coalition on 6 May 2011. The DAP declared the coalition "dead" on 16 June 2015, citing the inability of the rest of the alliance to work with PAS, after PAS's congress passed the motion to sever ties with DAP without debate. It was succeeded by Pakatan Harapan and Gagasan Sejahtera.

The 12th Malaysian Parliament is the last meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Malaysia, the Parliament, comprising the directly elected lower house, the Dewan Rakyat, and the appointed upper house, the Dewan Negara. It met for the first time at the Malaysian Houses of Parliament on 28 April 2008 and met for the last time on 29 November 2012. The King then dissolved the Parliament on 3 April 2013. The dissolution was announced by the Prime Minister Najib Razak after it consented by the King.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Kiandee</span> Malaysian politician (born 1961)

Ronald Kiandee is a Malaysian politician. A member of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU) and its Vice President since August 2020 and 2nd State Chairman of Sabah since December 2022, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Beluran since November 1999. He served as Minister of Agriculture and Food Industries in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration under former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin from March 2020 to the collapse of the PN administration in August 2021. He was reappointed to the same post for a second term in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob from August 2021 until the dissolution of the BN government in November 2022, when BN lost its reelection campaign in the 2022 general election. Prior to serving in the Cabinet, Kiandee was the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration from 2018 to 2019 and Deputy Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat I in the BN administration from 2008 to 2018. He is presently the sole MP of the Malaysian United Indigenous Party of Sabah and one of the only two Christian MPs of PN alongside Ali Biju.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar</span> Governor of Sarawak

Wan Junaidi bin Tuanku Jaafar is a Malaysian politician, lawyer and former senior police officer who is the eighth and current Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak. He previously served as the 19th President of the Dewan Negara and Senator from June 2023 to his resignation in January 2024.

This is a list of the members of the Dewan Rakyat of the 7th Parliament of Malaysia, elected in 1986.

This is a list of the members of the Dewan Rakyat of the 9th Parliament of Malaysia, elected in 1995.

The Malaysian federal budget for 2016 fiscal year was presented to the Dewan Rakyat by Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Najib Razak on Friday, 23 October 2015.

Lim Hui Ying is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Deputy Minister of Finance in the Unity Government administration under Prime Minister and Minister Anwar Ibrahim as well as Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan since December 2023 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong since November 2022. She served as the Deputy Minister of Education in the PH administration under Prime Minister Anwar and Minister Fadhlina Sidek from December 2022 to December 2023. She served as a Senator from August 2018 to her resignation in November 2022. She is a member and State Secretary of Penang of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the PH coalition. She is the daughter of DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang and younger sister of Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.