Journal of the Malaysian Parliament

Editorial Notes

Nik Ahmad Kamal bin Nik Mahmod — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Front Matter

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Sistem Jawatankuasa Pilihan Khas di Dewan Rakyat, Parlimen Malaysia: Penilaian Kritikal terhadap Instrumen Semak dan Imbang Legislatif

Muthanna Saari — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The core functions of parliament, namely, legislative, oversight and representative, reflect the significant contribution of parliament institutions to the overall governance of the country. These roles add value to the Executive’s activities while at the same time legitimising their actions. The role of parliament in ensuring good governance is manifested through the representation function and the government’s accountability in parliament. This paper aims to examine the role of checks and balances in the legislature through the Special Select Committee System in the Dewan Rakyat, Parliament of Malaysia. The paper first gives a brief overview of the background of the establishment of the current Special Select Committee System in the Dewan Rakyat, followed by a comparison with select committee systems in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Next, this paper analyses the strength and possible improvements of the Special Select Committee System before concluding with serious considerations for its strengthening as a way forward for the realisation of the Special Select Committee System for legislative bodies in Malaysia.

Pengukuhan Perkhidmatan Penyelidikan Bagi Keberkesanan Parlimen

Siti Fahlizah Padlee, Norlizawaty Abdu Samad — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The Malaysian Parliamentary Research and Library Division is a division of the Parliament Malaysia that offers research services and informational resources to parliamentary members across political parties. Strengthening the service of this research division by ensuring that accessing the research service with non-partisan, timely and facilitating quality information in providing more effectiveness of parliament as a legislative body in this country. This study explores the functions and research products introduced by this division to further strengthen its function and role in the parliamentary institution. Exploration of the similarities and differences in functions and products was also conducted involving the research section in three foreign parliaments, namely the UK Parliament, Parliament House of Australia, and New Zealand Parliament. The selection of these three countries is the main reference of Parliament Malaysia since its establishment in 1959. Data collection was done through the official websites of the House of Commons Library, Parliamentary Library-Parliament of Australia, and Parliamentary Library-New Zealand Parliament as well as written responses sent via emails by officials from the House of Commons Library, UK Parliament, Parliamentary Library, Parliament House of Australia, and Parliamentary Information Service, New Zealand Parliament. The findings showed that the Research and Library Division of the Parliament of Malaysia has improved its service and competency with the addition of new products such as opinions and editorial writings in local newspaper and article journal. Furthermore, strengthening this research division also involves external participation, particularly by the academicians and civil society, in various academic activities organised by this division. The findings further suggest the need to increase the number of research officers working at the Research and Library Division of the Parliament of Malaysia to meet the high workload and product output.

'Yang Indah-Indah', Bahasa dan Ideologi dalam Pantun Perbahasan Parlimen Ke-14

Muhammad Qhidir Bin Mat Isa — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0200

As the oldest Malay literary art form, Pantun aspires to the creation of ‘yang indah-indah’. In addition to the harmonious musical elements, vivid alternate rhymes that are both perceived, the beauty of a Pantun lies in its ability to convey deductive meanings using solid and transcendental allegory. For this reason, politicians are inclined to make use of this art form as a discursive strategy in political discussions despite its brevity due to its accurate, concise, and captivating quality and its deep effect on readers. Consequently, discourse Pantun becomes one of the important sources of explanation of the phenomena of language and power that take place in political discourse. Therefore, this study aims to elucidate the relationship between language and power that exist in Pantun forms, as well as to analyse the principles that support the aesthetics of Pantun recited in the Fourteenth Parliament of Senate Assembly’s Hansard text. Van Djik’s Ideological Square Scheme within the Critical Discourse Analysis is applied, along with Muhammad Haji Salleh’s literary theory Puitika Sastera Melayu (PSM). In short, in addition to its procedural function, it was found that poetry plays an important role in generating binary polarization through various discursive strategy such as Evidentiality, Self-Glorification, Victimisation, Burden, Lexicalisation, Illustration, Argumentation, Generalisasion and Metaphore. The selection of Pantun in this study dynamically and relatively fulfilled all six principles of ‘yang indah-indah’ of PSM theory.

Food Politics and the Paradigm Shift in the Parliamentary Debate on Food Security

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Food security has become a pertinent issue that is constantly being discussed in the mass media and even in parliamentary debates among the politicians. The topic of food security is political; hence, it should be handled with care within a confined aspect known as food politics. This paper is a preliminary stage study to examine which facets of food security that were most prominently debated among the members of the House of Representatives and whether the discussions were in line with and accurately portrayed the actual situation on the ground among the public. Hansards from the Parliament of Malaysia seatings in 2019 and 2022 were obtained as secondary data for analysis. The finding showed that the question of food availability was frequently mentioned in parliamentary debates as availability was the precursor to the other dimensions of food security. Additionally, food security issues raised by our politicians correspond with current major global issues that are affecting the public; collectively known as the 3C-shock: COVID-19, Climate Change and Conflict (Russia-Ukraine War).

Perspectives, Experiences, and Involvement of Youths in Promoting Sustainable Development Goals in Malaysian Parliamentary Constituencies

Zoel Ng, Philus Thomas — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of goals that aim to create new partnerships that involve all sectors of society to create a community that leaves no one behind. People often think of youth as drivers of innovation and social change, and they can play a key role in realising the SDGs at the local level. This study used an action research methodology to examine the perspectives, experiences, and competence of Malaysian youths with regard to their contributions to promoting the Sustainable Development Goals. Data was taken from the Malaysian Youth SDG Agent Initiative, which involved 67 participants in a quantitative survey and 24 in the second phase as SDG Agents. The findings describe youths’ perspectives and experiences with three aspects of youth involvement in promoting SDG. It is unequivocally affirmed from various perspectives that youth hold such a significant role as active agents contributing to the promotion of the SDGs, especially in raising awareness about the SDGs in the local community via organising SDG workshops and participating in different dialogues. Youths also have a positive regard for their abilities and effectiveness, which is a good sign that their diverse experiences have helped build the country. As a result, recommendations are made to bring to people’s attention ways for youths to be included in constituency-based sustainable development.

Parliamentarians & Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships in Implementing SDGs: In 57 Parliamentary Constituencies (Between 2020 and 2022) during the 14th Parliamentary Session

Prof. Datuk Dr. Denison Jayasooria, Nur Rahmah Othman — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0200

Parliamentarians in Malaysia have been very active in localising Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) at the constituency level since the establishment of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on Sustainable Development Goals (APPGM-SDG). Between October 2019 (when the APPGM-SDG was established) and October 10, 2022 (when the Parliament was dissolved), the 14th Parliament launched a truly bipartisan initiative. It is a significant establishment of a formal structure and mechanism for engagement between parliamentarians and non-parliamentarians. It was the first of the APPGMs and remained very active in the 14th parliament. This article reviews these three years noting achievements, challenges, and the way forward for the 15th parliamentary session over the next four to five years. Through the localisation process, we have recognised the importance of partnerships between parliamentarians, civil society activists, and academicians from universities and policy think tank groups. This partnership has a direct impact at both the grassroots at the micro level through SDG micro solution projects and policy advocacy on the macro national and cross-cutting concerns. Both dimensions have good scope for citizens’ participation in grassroots decentralised delivery of services on the one hand, as well as macro national level policy formulation. This process has definitive lessons for the global community.

Youth Development in Muar Parliamentary Constituency Through ‘The Room’ Projects

Siti Nur Ain Zakinuddin — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on the Sustainable Development Goals (APPGM-SDG) is a bipartisan party that works with constituencies to combat the issues to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Muar is one of the constituencies collaborating with APPGM-SDG in developing Muar youth. The objectives of ‘The Room’ project is conducted in Muar to promote youth engagement in creative and arts activities. The problem statement is that youth encounter various obstacles that might restrict their personal development, limit their chances, and impede their capacity to contribute to society. These obstacles can be associated with education, jobs, mental health, and social concerns, among others. During issue mapping, the youth’s need for a creative space was raised. The methodology used is grounded research through in-depth interviews and focused group discussions (FGD). Pudipang Industries, the solution provider, introduced 11 activities for this ‘The Room’ project related to Sustainable Development Goals to achieve the SDG 17 goals. They have been awarded a RM40,000 grant to address youth engagement issues within the next four months. The finding shows that the projects successfully attracted 175 youth participants in various 11 activities, and nine SDGs involved with the project, such as SDG 1, SDG 3, SDG 5, SDG 8, SDG 10, SDG 11, SDG 12, SDG 14 and SDG 16.

Hak Negeri Melayu ke Atas Pelantar Benua: Kajian Kes Malaysia Mengikut Analisis Jurisprudens Watan

Wan Ahmad Fauzi bin Wan Husain — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The sovereign rights of a country over territorial waters are not a new issue. As an independent State, it has sovereignty within its territory and external sovereignty in the form of international recognition. Disputes over territorial rights remain between one State and another today, resulting in tensions in political relations. A local issue close to this subject that still arises is the right of a state in the Federation over petroleum production. Hence, this paper aims to analyse the rights of a Malay State over the territory of the Continental shelf of Malaysia, as it is there that petroleum resources are explored. This study is a legal analysis using a case study design promoting the method of watanic jurisprudence to analyse a few primary legislation, including UNCLOS, the Continental Shelf Act 1966, and the Territorial Sea Act 2012. This paper found that the territorial waters of the Malay State in the Federation cannot be limited to 3 nautical miles from the low tide line in pursuance of the Territorial Sea Act 2012 without strict compliance with Article 2 of the Federal Constitution. The legitimacy of the territorial limits of the State’s waters is essential as it determines the State’s rights to the Continental shelf and its petroleum production recognised for a coastal state by International Law.

Terrorism & The Overview on Impacts Towards Government Policies in Malaysia, The United States and The United Kingdom

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0200

The terrorist acts that occur around the world, with a significant incident of September 11, have brought about changes in government policies not only in Western countries but also in Malaysia. In fact, the introduction of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (SOSMA) 2012 in Malaysia is one of the significant legislations in combating terrorism. Anti-Terrorism legislation is, without a doubt, a sine qua non for countries in pursuit of their states’ stability and security. Therefore, this article evaluates the impacts of terrorism on government policies in Malaysia, the United States and the United Kingdom and emphasis will be placed on whether the policies, i.e., the domestic legislation carried out, manage to play a significant role in combating terrorism.