KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 – The quality of debate in the Dewan Negara must be improved so that it is not regarded as a ‘rubber stamp’, said its president Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang. He said this was important to ensure that the Dewan Negara was not perceived to be merely passing bills arbitrarily. “I want to emphasise that the Dewan Negara can no longer be regarded as a ‘rubber stamp’, no more ‘rubbber stamp’, we must emphasise quality in terms of the debate.
“In a democracy, we should issue solid statements in the dewan even though there are differences of opinion,” he said at the farewell ceremony of eight Dewan Negara senators who were retiring this year, at the Parliament House here Tuesday. Abu Zahar said besides that, all senators should also be given the opportunity to serve more than one term so that they could truly master and learn the ins and outs of the Dewan Negara’s system.
