Debate on charter rewrite bills in next House session

Parliament will debate charter amendment bills when it convenes its next session in December, House Speaker Wan Muhammad Noor Matha confirmed on Monday.
The decision was made after government, opposition and Senate whips agreed to discuss bills which seek to revise parts of the 2017 constitution in the next parliamentary session, he said, saying there is simply not enough time to start a discussion in the current session, which will wrap up on Wednesday.
As such, they opted to hold the talks in the next session, which begins on Dec 15-16.
Mr Wan said the government could call a special parliamentary session if necessary. The House could also request one, if there are bills which require urgent deliberation, he added.
When asked about changes to Section 256 of the constitution, which paves the way for the establishment of a charter drafting body, Mr Wan said the changes must be decided by a referendum before they can proceed.
Separately, People’s Party list MP Parit Wacharasindhu said on Monday the number of referendums on the charter should be lowered from three to two, to minimise the risk of further delays.
His remarks came as the House and Senate locked horns over the size of the majority needed to pass a referendum on the constitution.
The House stands by its position that a simple majority is sufficient, but the Senate, which is taking a harder line, insists on two conditions: that over 50% of voters must participate in the referendum, and the majority of those who take part must support it.
A joint committee was formed to settle the issue, in the hope that the referendum could proceed in February next year as planned.
Mr Parit said to ensure the charter rewrite process would not be delayed further, the referendum should be done in two rounds, noting it will still be in compliance with the Constitutional Court’s ruling.
The court ruled the public must approve any move by parliament to amend the entire charter, and if that first referendum approves the push to amend the charter, another one must be held to see if the public approves of the changes.
Under the government’s current plan, a referendum will be held to ask voters if they agree with the push to write a new charter. If the majority of voters agree, a second will be held to ask the public if Section 256 should be amended to allow for the drafting of a new charter.
Once a new constitution has been produced, the government will hold a third vote to ask voters whether or not the changes should be adopted.