KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 – A government backbencher on Tuesday urged the Dewan Rakyat House Committee to play a bigger role in planning and monitoring the upgrading work at the Parliament building. Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad said that the Public Work Department (JKR) right now was seen to be playing a bigger role in carrying out the upgrading work.
In the meantime, he said JKR also allegedly without taking into consideration the input from the members of the House Committee, Parliament staff and elected representatives, who will use the facilities. Shahrir also questioned the ruling that the new building which will house the offices of Members of Parliament should not be higher than the main block which houses the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara, on grounds of respecting the Parliament building heritage status.
Shahrir said how can a building higher than the main block affect or discredit the parliamentary heritage when the Parliament building itself is already higher than the main block. He said this when debating the Supply Bill 2016 in the Dewan Rakyat here on Tuesday.
In this regard, Shahrir said it was apt for the committee, which is chaired by the Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, to play a greater role in ensuring that the process of upgrading the buildings would take into account the opinion of the staff and members of the Parliament. Shahrir said priority should also be given in providing a complete media centre for the convenience of journalists. The sitting will be continues on Wednesday.
