MARCH 5 — In 1992, the Federal Constitution was amended vide the Constitution (Amendment) Act 1992 (Act A837). Section 5 of Act A837 amended Article 65 as follows:
Article 65 of the Constitution is amended –
(a) by substituting for Clauses (2) and (3) the following:
(2) The Clerk to the Senate and the Clerk to the House of Representatives shall be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong from among members of the general public service of the Federation and each shall hold office until he attains the age of fifty-five years unless he sooner resigns his office or is transferred to another office in the general public service.
(3) The persons holding the office of the Clerk to the Senate and Clerk to the House of Representatives immediately prior to the coming into force of this Clause shall, unless either person has not attained the age of fifty-five years and has opted to become a member of the general public service of the Federation, continue to hold office respectively on terms and conditions not less favourable than those applicable to him immediately before such coming into operation and shall not be removed from office except on the like grounds and in the like manner as a judge of the Supreme Court, and in this respect the representation mentioned in Article 125(3) shall be a representation made by the President of the Senate or, as the case may be, the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and
(b) by deleting Clauses (4) and (5).
The Clauses before the amendments read as follows:
(2) The Clerk to The Senate and the Clerk to the House of Representatives shall be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and, subject to Clause (3), each shall hold office until he attains the age of sixty years or such other age as Parliament may by law provide, unless he sooner resigns his office:
Provided that this Clause shall not be taken to prevent the Yang di-Pertuan Agong from making the appointment from amongst the members of the public services to which Part X applies for such shorter period as he may deem fit, and this proviso shall be deemed to have been an integral part of this Article as from Merdeka Day.
(3) The Clerk to the Senate and the Clerk to the House of Representatives may be removed from office on the like grounds and in the like manner as a judge of the Supreme Court, except that the representation mentioned in Clause (3) of Article 125 shall be a representation made by the President of the Senate or, as the case may be, the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(4) Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Article, the qualifications for appointment and conditions of service of the Clerk to the Senate and the Clerk to the House of Representatives, and of members of the staff of the Houses of Parliament, may be regulated by federal law.
(5) The Clerk to the Senate, the Clerk to the House of Representatives and members of the staff of Parliament are disqualified for being members of either House of Parliament or the Legislative Assembly of any State.
What can one make of the amendments to Article 65 in 1992, which came into force on November 20, 1993?
The amendments mean that the Clerk to the Senate and the Clerk to the House of Representatives must be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong from among members of the general public service of the Federation, holding office until the age of 60 unless the Clerk resign sooner or is transferred to another office in the general public service.
The Clerks also no longer enjoy a measure of security of tenure as before the amendments the Clerks would have to be removed from office “on the like grounds and in the like manner as a judge of the Supreme Court (now Federal Court)”, except that the representation must be a representation made by the President of the Senate or, as the case may be, the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Consequent to the amendments, the Clerks no longer belong to a separate service known as the Parliamentary Service with the repeal of the Parliamentary Service Act 1963 vide Section 7(d) of Act A837.
Every member of the staff of the Houses of Parliament from then on become members of the public service on terms and conditions of service applicable to the public service.
In short, there is no longer a separate service known as Parliamentary Service.
Thirty years on, Article 65 has been proposed to be amended vide Clause 4 of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2025 (DR 5/2025).
Clause 4(a) seeks to provide for the appointment of the Clerk to the Senate and the Clerk to the House of Representatives by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Upon the establishment of the Parliamentary Service under a federal law, the Clerk to the Senate or the Clerk to the House of Representatives may be appointed from among the members of the general public service of the Federation or any person who is not a member of the general public service of the Federation to hold office until his terms of appointment expire, his appointment is revoked or he resigns his office.
Clause 4(b) seeks to introduce a new Clause (2A) into Article 65 to provide for the disqualification of the Clerk to the Senate and the Clerk to the House of Representatives from being members of either House of Parliament or the Legislative Assembly of any State.
Clause 4(b) also seeks to introduce a new Clause (2B) into Article 65 to provide that the qualifications for appointment and conditions of service of the Clerk to the Senate and the Clerk to the House of Representatives may be regulated by a federal law.
Yesterday, the Dewan Rakyat voted to pass the Bill with a two-third majority – 148 in favour, 57 abstaining and 17 absent. — Bernama pic
The Bill also includes a saving clause – that is, Clause 5:
(1) The person holding the office of the Clerk to the Senate or the Clerk to the House of Representatives before the date of coming into operation of the amendments shall, on the date of coming into operation of the amendments, continue to hold office until he attains his age of compulsory retirement as a member of the general public service of the Federation unless he sooner resigns his office or is transferred to another office in the general public service of the Federation.
(2) If the person holding the office of the Clerk to the Senate or the Clerk to the House of Representatives before the date of coming into operation of the amendments has opted to become a member of the Parliamentary Service established under a federal law, on the date of coming into operation of the amendments— (a) the person shall be employed on terms and conditions of service to which he was entitled to immediately before the date of coming into operation of the amendments; and (b) the person shall be deemed to be a member of the public service for the purposes of the Pensions Act 1980 [Act 227].
Yesterday, the Dewan Rakyat voted to pass the Bill with a two-third majority – 148 in favour, 57 abstaining and 17 absent.
This means that the Clerks shall be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and each shall hold office until his terms of appointment expire, his appointment is revoked or he resigns his office.
It also means that the Clerks shall be disqualified from being a member of either House of Parliament or the Legislative Assembly of any State and that except as otherwise expressly provided by the Article, the qualifications for appointment and conditions of service of the Clerks may be regulated by federal law.
So now, what can one make of the amendments to Article 65?
The amendments revert Article 65 to pre-1993 to pave the way for the re-establishment of the Parliamentary Service, freeing Parliament from the clutches of the executive.
One therefore wonders why 57 MPs abstained from voting in favour of the Bill.
Abstaining for the sake of abstaining?
