By Tricia Yeoh
IN opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s 13 Oct 2008 speech in Parliament, he called for a fresh budget, considering the ongoing global financial crisis. He said it was impossible for Members of Parliament (MPs) to debate an outdated budget. Furthermore, he said the budget was tabled under the former finance minister.
The coming weeks will see Parliament scrutinising a thick document on national revenues and expenditures, before it is due to be passed in December 2008 as the Supply Act. Opposition parliamentarians are bound to question the government, in critical analysis of this important document that outlines the nation’s money matters.
That parliamentarians are given the opportunity to debate the Supply Bill before it is passed is indeed an element of the democratic process. However, is the debate itself enough to qualify as being reflective of a well-governed country?
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