In the wake of the filibuster saga, former Legislative Council president Andrew Wong Wang-fat has warned against changing house rules to specify procedures for terminating a debate at the committee stage.
Wong expressed concern that any such changes could be abused by lawmakers.
His comments came after Legco president Tsang Yok-sing put the brakes on the filibuster of a contentious by-election bill on Thursday.
The delaying tactic by pan-democrats prompted pro-establishment lawmakers to call for a mechanism to stop filibusters at the committee stage, when legislators examine and vote on each amendment to a bill.
'It would be very dangerous to amend the rules of procedure,' said Wong, the last president of the legislature during British rule. 'The fear is that the majority at any one time might abuse it ... they can move the motion [to stop a debate] presumably sooner than [appropriate].'
Speaking after RTHK's City Forum, he said if such a rule were to be introduced, it should be done 'very carefully', so that the president or the chairman at the committee stage would be responsible to ensure the minority's rights were protected.
Wong said Tsang should not have stopped the marathon session 'merely based on his own judgment' but should have let the full council decide whether to stop the debate.
