ERSKINE May, often referred to as “the bible of parliamentary procedure”, explains parliamentary privilege as follows:

“Parliamentary privilege is the sum of certain rights enjoyed by each House [of parliament] collectively as a constituent part of parliament and by members of each House individually, without which they could not discharge their functions, and which exceed those possessed by other bodies or individuals. Some privileges rest solely on the law and custom of parliament, while others have been defined by statute.

“Certain rights and immunities such as freedom from arrest or freedom of speech are exercised primarily by individual members of each House. They exist in order to allow members of each House to contribute effectively to the discharge of the functions of their House. Other rights and immunities, such as the power to punish for contempt and the power to regulate its own constitution, belong primarily to each House as a collective body, for the protection of its members and the vindication of its own authority and dignity.

“Fundamentally, however, it is only as a means to the effective discharge of the collective functions of the House that the individual privileges are enjoyed by members. The speaker has ruled that parliamentary privilege is absolute.

“When any of these rights and immunities is disregarded or attacked, the offence is called a breach of privilege and is punishable under the law of parliament. Each House also claims the right to punish contempts.

“These are actions which, while not necessarily breaches of any specific privilege, obstruct or impede it in the performance of its functions, or are offences against its authority or dignity, such as disobedience to its legitimate commands or libels upon itself, its members or its officers.

“The power to punish for contempt or breach of privilege has been judicially considered to be inherent in each House of parliament.”

In Malaysia as is elsewhere, a select committee named the Committee of Privileges is appointed by the Dewan Rakyat – the House of Commons elsewhere – to consider specific matters relating to privileges referred to it by the Dewan Rakyat.

The remit and powers of the Committee of Privileges are set out in the Dewan Rakyat Standing Order No 80. Its powers to punish for “contempt of the House” are set out in Standing Order No 80A.

The committee has a cross-party membership of six MPs, excluding the speaker. Bersatu is represented by Datuk Mohd Radzi bin Md Jidin, MP for Putrajaya. PAS is represented by Datuk Idris bin Ahmad MP for Bagan Serai. 

The committee is nominated by the Committee of Selection, another parliamentary committee appointed at the beginning of each parliament under Standing Orders No 76 to perform the functions allotted to it by the Standing Orders, and for other matters as the Dewan Rakyat may from time to time refer to it.

The Committee of Selection has the opposition leader and MP for Larut, Datuk Seri Hamzah bin Zainudin and Datuk Seri Takiyuddin bin Hassan, MP for Kota Baru, as members. 

One can rightly describe the Committee of Privilege as a committee of parliamentarians, by parliamentarians, for parliamentarians.

When it considers matters relating to privileges referred to it by the Dewan Rakyat, it is operating according to the rules and conventions of parliament.

It is separate from the legal process, because only parliamentarians can make decisions about issues of parliamentary privilege. – June 25, 2024.

* Hafiz Hassan reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.