BILLS

deals with matter of government policy (majority of bills introduced in the legislature)

THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS

Inside parliament, there are basically 4 types of Bills.

Private Bills

those affecting particular person or group, associations,organizations & bodies

Private Member’s Bills

those introduced by any member of the legislature other than a Minister or Assistant Minister

Hybrid Bill

Bills which in the opinion of the Speaker of the HOR or President of Senate appear to affect individual rights or interest.

Government Bills

deals with matter of government policy (majority of bills introduced in the legislature)

Formulation

Recommendation

How a bill becomes a Law (an act)

First Reading
(1)

Second Reading
(2)

Committee Stage (3)

Third Reading (4)

Other House
(5)

Royal Assent
(6)

Publication (7)

A draft legislation is proposed by a certain minister or ministry.

For example, New Straits Times (NST) reported Prime Minister as saying that a law was needed to curb fake news in the country, before a committee was set up to draft it.

Second reading in Dewan Rakyat

First reading in Dewan Rakyat

Contents of the draft legislation is usually formulated by the Attorney General Chambers of Malaysia before being introduced as a bill into the Parliament.

The First Reading is perceived to be just a formality, where a minister in the Dewan Rakyat reads out only the title of the bill.

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MPs are not allowed to debate and discuss about the bill yet.

The second reading is regarded as one of the most crucial stages in this process, where the Bill goes through a parliamentary debate on its principles and contents in the Dewan Rakyat.