KUALA LUMPUR: The Parliamentary Services Act (PSA) is set for revival after new laws were tabled for the first reading at the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Feb 24) morning.
The Parliamentary Services Bill 2025 and the Federal Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2025 were tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
Both bills will be debated and passed before the current Parliament sitting ends on March 6.
The PSA was first enacted in 1963, shortly before Malaysia's formation and it allowed Parliament to operate independently, selecting its staff and managing its expenditure.
However, it was repealed in 1992 during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's first tenure as prime minister.
Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul said the re-enactment of the PSA is among his key reform agendas for Parliament.
The proposed Parliamentary Services Bill 2025 seeks to establish the Parliamentary Service, Parliamentary Services Council, and the Parliamentary Service Administration.
According to Section 2(2), the Parliamentary Services will include the Dewan Negara Secretary, the Dewan Rakyat Secretary, and additional members appointed by the Parliamentary Services Council.
Section 2(4) states that a member of the Parliamentary Services will no longer be an MP or a state assemblyman.
The bill also outlines that members of the Parliamentary Service will receive remuneration and benefits, determined by the Parliamentary Services Council and approved by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Section 3(1) states that the Parliamentary Services Council will be chaired by the Senate President and co-chaired by the Dewan Rakyat Speaker.
The council will include the Senate Deputy President, two Dewan Rakyat deputy speakers, two members of the Senate, four MPs, the Dewan Negara Secretary, and the Dewan Rakyat Secretary.
It will also include the Treasury secretary-general or their representative as an ex-officio member, the Public Service director-general or their representative as an ex-officio member, and the Parliament chief administrator.
Section 7 establishes a Parliamentary Service Promotion Committee responsible for promoting council members.
Section 8 proposes a Parliamentary Service Disciplinary Committee to oversee disciplinary control over council members.
This committee will be co-chaired by the Senate Deputy President and the Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker.
Decisions in the Parliamentary Service Disciplinary Committee meetings will be made by majority vote, with the chairman holding the casting vote in case of a tie.
Section 9 aims to create the Parliamentary Service Appeal Committee to handle appeals against decisions by the Promotion and Disciplinary Committees.
Additionally, the Federal Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2025 proposes to amend Article 56, allowing the Senate president and deputy president to hold office in the Parliamentary Services Council without disqualification, provided they receive no remuneration or benefits.
A new Clause 5A in Article 57 will ensure the Dewan Rakyat speaker or deputy speaker is not disqualified from office due to their council membership, again provided they receive no remuneration or benefits.
The Amendment Bill also seeks to change Article 65 to allow the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to appoint the Senate and Dewan Rakyat secretaries.
Upon establishing the Parliamentary Service, these secretaries may be appointed from public service members or others, serving until their term expires, is revoked, or they resign.
Both bills will lead to additional financial expenditure from Putrajaya.
