IF events that unfolded in the august house this week are an indication, Malaysians can look forward to more meaningful debates that cut through the usual tedious rhetoric.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussein stole the limelight, even earning the rare honour of unanimous support from the opposition.
He received much table thumping from across the divide when replying to points raised during the committee stage of the debate on the 2010Budget, deftly answering some difficult questions related to stricter control of 4D gambling.
The opposition demanded that the government abolish special draws and also cut the number of weekly draws from three to two. They stressed that it was unhealthy for society to be exposed to rampant gambling -- up to 72 draws in a year -- and at the same time unethical for the government to rely on gambling tax to run the country.
Awang Adek, while admitting that the issue did not fall under his portfolio, promised that he would raise it at the ministry's next meeting, earning kudos from the opposition.
But Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia did not get such appreciation from the opposition. In explaining his reasons for rejecting a motion to debate Malaysia's drop in performance in the annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI), he defended the chair against views that it was biased and unfair.
Pandikar said he and his two deputies were constantly faced with such negative perceptions, despite the fact that they had made numerous calls in favour of the opposition.
He detailed quite a few cases from the time he took office in April last year, where emergency motions raised by the opposition had been allowed.
"Even after all this, my deputies and I are constantly fighting such perceptions... we always wind up on the losing end," said an exasperated Pandikar.
He repeated to the House that a motion would only be allowed if it was definite, urgent and of public interest, but left it open to MPs to use provisions under the standing orders to review any rejection if they disagreed.
Backbenchers, on the other hand, were left a little irritated at the end of the week's final sitting, when N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR-Padang Serai) called for a vote by division to pass the Foreign Ministry's allocation under the 2010 Budget. It caused a bit of a scramble among backbenchers, many of whom were anxious, especially the Sabah and Sarawak MPs, to get back to their constituencies.
But it turned out to be all bluster when the final tally went 37-21 in favour of passing the bill, drawing jeers from backbenchers who did not appreciate anyone wasting their time.
The House also saw the second reading of the Personal Data Protection Bill, bringing Malaysians one step closer to finally having clear defences against misuse of their personal data.
The bill, which will protect personal data used in commercial transactions in various sectors, is expected to be debated after the conclusion of the 2010 Budget debate.