Legislative Politics

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(We had saw how the Peaceful Assembly Bill being bulldozed into the parliament and quickly approved with limited debates, next would be the Computing Professionals Bill. So, how effective is the role of the parliament in our nation today? Some say the Malaysian parliament today is a mere rubber-stamp as the executive overly dominates the policy making role. What is your view then?)

How are laws being made and how are they made not only in terms of constitutional prescription or the unwritten conventions of the legislature but also in terms of the clash of interests inside and outside the legislature arena? How do the rules and procedures of the legislatures, its system of committees, sub committees, affect the substances of the legislative policy?

How is the power distribution among legislators themselves? And how is influence over the legislative process related to party and committee membership, seniority and personal relationship with the chief executive and with other members of the legislature?

And if it is true that legislatures have lost their policy making initiative to the executive branch of the government, what are the principal functions of legislative institution? If they function primarily as watchdogs over the executives, how successful are they in monitoring the operations of executive branches and in maintaining the political responsibility of administrators to rank and file citizens or the people through their elected representatives?

How is it possible for legislators to be informed about all the far flung activities of the administrative state? How well do legislators attend to the diverse needs of their many constituents? And what are the implications of any gaps or shortcoming in these categories for the traditional notions of popular representation and democratic government?

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