LETTER | Shadow cabinet is different from select committees

LETTER | Recently, unity government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil, who is also the communications minister, downplayed the need for a shadow cabinet.

In his argument, the minister said the opposition could use the Parliamentary Special Select Committees (PSSC) to play the check and balance role in Parliament.

In reality, there are differences between a shadow cabinet and select committees.

In the UK, shadow cabinets exist concurrently with select committees led by the opposition, and ad hoc committees are appointed to examine specific issues.

The shadow cabinet is made up of the senior members of the largest party of the opposition, known as His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition.

The shadow cabinet mirrors the positions and responsibilities of the government of the day.

Their jobs are to oversee those they shadow and develop policies for their party, which comes with being collectively responsible.

This gave the opposition a longer plan, and this was seen in 1970, when Edward Richard George Heath won the election and was better prepared to resume office.

On the other hand, parliamentary select committees are formed within the parliamentary framework, in which they work in both houses. Their scope here is much wider.

Their duties are mainly to make inquiries on specific topics, and the outcome of these inquiries is made public, which requires accountability from the government.

Ministers from both sides serve in this parliamentary select committee, and they perform their roles and responsibilities above party politics.

Thus, the major purpose of these committees is to ensure the government and its administration function according to the rule of law and are transparent in their policymaking.

As for the ad-hoc committee, it is only established if there is a need for the government to address certain pressing issues.

This mirrors Malaysia’s PSCC, which was formed to assist the cabinet in resolving problems from time to time. Currently, we have 10 ministries under PSSC.

The committee consists of opposition MPs and backbenchers. Hence, their role is to tackle issues that need immediate responses from the cabinet.

Hence, there are major differences between the shadow cabinet and the PSSC, and they can co-exist for better accountability and transparency, providing checks and balances within the legislative branch.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.