The start of the new parliamentary sitting will likely touch on the hot topics of a possible snap election and rising oil price amidst unrest in the Arab world.
PETALING JAYA: The rising price of oil worldwide and a possible snap election will be widely- discussed issues in the next parliamentary sitting.
This trend, some MPs said, would have great effect over the March 7 parliamentary sitting.
The sitting is also expected to see the tabling of bills including the Renewable Energy Bill 2010, Road Transport (Amendment) Bill 2010 and Goods and Services Tax Bill 2009.
“The rise in oil price is very troubling, given the global situation, and the oil deposits in the Middle East,” said Kuala Selangor MP Dzulkefly Ahmad.
In light of this economic trouble, the PAS MP said that the government needed to be wise about how it approached the economy.
“It would be very reckless of the government to do short-term pump priming and double spending,” Dzulkefly said, adding that the danger was that the government would be in a hurry to hold the 13th general election.
“The prime minister is going to rush the country into another general election, hoodwinking the people into believing that all is well,” he said.
Many political observers have noted that 2011′s first parliamentary sitting may be the last before a possible snap general election.
Dzulkefly said that the Barisan Nasional’s recent by-election wins may also contribute to possible over-confidence by the ruling government.
“With all these wins, he (Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak) would be very bullish in calling for snap polls,” Dzulkefly said.
These events, he added, would affect the behaviour of BN MPs.
Oil prices
Padang Besar MP Azmi Khalid said that the recent hikes in oil prices would definitely affect Malaysia’s economy.
“The oil price increase will impact Malaysia. We will have to see how this is going to be handled by the government,” he said.
Brent oil has gone up to US$116 a barrel, with uprisings occurring all over the Middle East and North Africa.
Commenting on possible snap election after the sitting, Azmi said that the government should not wait before calling elections after high oil price increases.
“If I’m the government, I would call for early election,” he said.
Speaking on the current unrest in the Middle East, the Umno MP said that the government needed to pay close attention to US moves.
“The US has a very good reason to go to Libya. MPs should be concerned with the situation in the Middle East right now. It sounds like the US is preparing to move into Libya like it did into Iraq,” Azmi said.
Two US warships were recently seen in the Mediterranean Sea, and were close to the embattled North African nation.
“It would be a good excuse for the Americans to enter. Some of the biggest oil deposits in Africa are in Libya,” he said.
Greater involvement
However, Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin said that a possible snap election should not influence the next parliamentary sitting.
“Whether the snap polls are going to happen or not (…) will not have a bearing in the next parliamentary sitting,” the Umno Youth chief said.
He said that the sitting should concern itself with plans the government has announced under its Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).
“These projects will have to be both accountable and effective. The government has to make sure that all projects announced can be defended,” he said, citing the RM36 billion Mass Rail Transit as one of them.
“There’s no doubt that there are merits in these projects, but the public will want to know the process by which these projects are carried out,” Khairy added.
He also said that parliamentary discussions needed greater involvement of MPs, as opposed to mere generalisations.
“This process (discussion) should not be limited to just BN MPs but also opposition MPs. The MPs have to go through the details of every programme (debated before the House),” said Khairy.
“Then they will have to ask why less effective programmes were given more funding.”
Khairy said that there were not enough instances of these questions being raised in Parliament, and urged MPs to go through certain issues with greater scrutiny. http://fb.me/B5ZbAKL3
