Senate sets up Reform Working Committee

KUALA LUMPUR: A Senate Reform Working Committee comprising 14 members has been set up to improve the institution.

Senator Mohd Yusmadi Mohd Yusoff who is acting as the committee chairman said the committee was the result of discussions among members and had obtained the approval of Senate President Tan Sri S.A. Vigneswaran.

“We have declared that all present today will work together across party and agreed to make this initiative as a Senate reform.

“For this purpose, we had met and chosen 14 Senators to be involved as the working committee members and we had just met Tan Sri S.A. Vigneswaran who viewed the move as a good initiative.

“We will start our duties by giving good proposals to reform the Senate,” he told reporters at Parliament yesterday.

He said the committee had also held a meeting with the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong who is in charge of Parliamentary affairs and Liew had welcomed the setting of the committee. Among the areas for the reform of the Senate was to uphold the independence of the Senate as provided under the constitution and to educate the people on the function of the institution.

“In fact, we want to educate the people who may have misunderstood the position of Dewan Negara itself.

“The appointment of members of the committee was achieve on a bi-partisan basis and not based on the party they are representing but we will discuss as a family for all parties,” he said.

Apart from Mohd Yusmadi, the committee comprised Senator Khairudin Abd Samad, Senator Ismail Yusop, Senator Datuk Fahariyah Md Nordin, Senator Asmak Husin, Senator Khairul Azwan Harun, Senator Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker, Senator Nga Hock Cheh and Senator Adrian Banie Lasimbang.

Other members are Senator Datuk Theodore Douglas Lind, Senator Datuk Paul Igai, Senator Datuk Dr S Ananthan, Senator Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omar Din and Senator Datuk Mohd Suhaimi Abdullah.

The Senate adjourned sine die yesterday.