Members of parliament have been reminded of the dignity and status of the parliament chamber, and the need to maintain cleanliness, after it was discovered that the chamber was littered with trash, food scraps and food containers following the first day of the marathon debate on the budget bill yesterday.
House Speaker Chuan Leekpai issued the reminder before debate resumed this morning. He told all MPs that he had received a complaint from the janitors about excessive amounts of garbage littering the chamber.
He said he believed the MPs might not have intended to discard their leftover food, food containers and other trash in the chamber, but might have mistakenly thought of the chamber as a seminar room, where they may be used to such behaviour.
Citing Parliamentary Rule No 181, Chuan said that the parliament chamber is a respectable venue and a restricted zone where any individual entering the chamber must abide by the rules regarding dress code, cleanliness and the use of cell phones in a way which may cause a nuisance to others.
