PUBLISHED : 30 Nov 2024 at 08:10
A total of 14 bills partially amending the 2017 constitution are set to be deliberated when the House reconvenes next month, Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha said on Friday.
However, despite the charter changes being highly anticipated and the House of Representatives fervently supporting the proposed constitutional amendments, whether these bills will eventually be passed into law remains to be seen, he said.
“It’s not like all drafts included on the House’s meeting agenda will be successful as passing them involves several more parties,” Mr Wan said.
Some bills which are linked to the charter referendum bill still pending a House-Senate committee’s review, for instance, will possibly have to wait until the joint committee can find a compromise to resolve Lower and Upper House differences on the referendum bill, he said.
However, he said he had included the 14 bills amending the constitution article by article on the agenda but no specific date has been set yet to debate them. It may be within December after the House reconvenes on Dec 12.
He said the 14 bills are not against the Constitutional Court’s 2021 ruling on charter amendments because it will be changes to each section, not the entire charter.
In 2021, the court ruled that the public must approve any move to amend the entire charter, and if that first referendum is approved, another must be held to see if people approve the new content.
Asked if the bill amending Section 256 of the charter to allow for the drafting of a new constitution, which was submitted to the House by People’s Party (PP) list MP Parit Wacharasindhu, will also be debated this time, Mr Wan said it will.
“However, whether or not it will eventually be passed is a different matter,” he said.
Mr Parit submitted the bill in his capacity as chairman of the House committee on political development, mass communication and public participation. It was rejected once before, but it will be considered in parliament this time, Mr Wan said.