Imagine helping a parliamentary committee call a government department head to answer questions, while worrying that the same public-service hierarchy could transfer you elsewhere. Law Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said says a separate Parliamentary Service should ease that pressure.
Speaking on 7 October, she explained that staff who opt into the service would come under the Parliamentary Service Council’s own management structure. Bernama reported her account of how the change could support committees carrying out scrutiny.
The Parliamentary Service Act 2025 and related constitutional amendments took effect on 1 October. They restore a dedicated service after the previous legislation was repealed in 1992.
Independence has to reach the people doing the work
The practical point is about the staff supporting MPs, not simply a new name for an office. A committee’s power to ask questions depends partly on people arranging evidence, contacting witnesses and keeping its work moving.
Azalina expects the separate structure to make that work less vulnerable to pressure from the wider administration. That is her assessment of the reform, rather than proof that every concern has already disappeared.
In remarks carried by UMNO Online, she also stressed accountability, professionalism and integrity alongside autonomy. Independence is useful when it strengthens the institution’s ability to examine legislation, policy and public spending responsibly.
MPs could get their own drafting support
Bernama reported that the council could establish a legislative drafting body to help government and opposition MPs examine clauses, propose amendments and prepare bills, including private members’ bills.
For readers, that opens another way to judge the reform: whether MPs gain practical help to interrogate what a law actually says. A debate becomes more useful when members can work through its wording as well as its politics.
Staff appointments and service arrangements still need to be worked through. Proposed council membership was due for consideration at a meeting on 13 October. The change now has a legal starting point; its value will become clearer in how Parliament’s everyday scrutiny works.
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