LegCo 2012: Word of the day is “Expectations”
This post hasn't been updated in over 3 years.
(I originally wrote a much longer LegCo post, but felt that I was making two different points, so I separated them. The other post is about LegCo becoming a platform for updating on progress, and I felt that I would prefer more meat to such updates.)
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This year, the 8th Legislative Council (LegCo) session got a Twitter hashtag: #legco8. As noted on ProjekBrunei.com, the Bruneian Twitterverse was keen to take up on this. The comments in the #legco8 feed on Twitter this year show concerned citizens being skeptical, snarky, sometimes appreciative, but most likely frustrated with the reports on the LegCo proceedings.
I have a feeling that there may be a disconnect between what the Government expects LegCo to be, and what the public expects it to be.
Expectations of “Debate”
There is a perception that LegCo is about “debate”. From the official website of Jabatan Majlis-Majlis Mesyuarat, the functions of LegCo are given as:
- Merundingkan dan meluluskan undang-undang
- Mengenakan sekatan-sekatan kewangan
- Meneliti polisi-polisi Kerajaan dan lain-lain perkara berkaitan dengan perjalanan Majlis Mesyuarat Negara
(Source: Fungsi Majlis Mesyuarat Negara)
