LETTER | Parliament needs to sit for more than a day

LETTER | Parliament is one of the most important institutions in Malaysia as it is a legislative authority for the federation and it enacts laws to be enforced nationwide. 

In addition to that, Parliament also has the role of passing federal laws, making amendments to existing federal laws, examining the government's policies, approving the government's expenditures and approving new taxes. 

The two keys points here that are supposed to be addressed during this crisis is the approval of the government’s expenditure and the examination of government policies. 

The recent Prihatin economic stimulus package that was announced by the prime minister was approved without debate or approval in Parliament. It is understandable the mechanics of reducing red tapes and bureaucracy but this at least should have been done as a process. 

Furthermore, government policies, especially during this pandemic, are also not clear and a little all over the place because there have not been substantial discussions about it. This would not be the case if Parliament was in session as debates would steer substantial discussions and direction in terms of policymaking, especially taking into account suggestions from all sides of the political spectrum including concerns on the ground.

De facto Law Minister Takiyuddin Hassan was cited as saying that the reasons behind the one-day parliamentary seating were based on the advice from the Health Ministry (MOH) on the current situation and developments, which involves efforts to control and end the coronavirus pandemic as well as assist the people to overcome the after-effects. 

He also added that the main concern of the government remained the safety of all those attending the meeting. The government is also not willing to take any risks as they are at a point of succeeding in containing the coronavirus crisis. 

But according to the Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, the MOH had never advised nor advocated a one-day parliamentary session. The one-day seating would focus on government-related matters, with Question Time and motions disallowed which once again defeats the purpose of Parliament as an institution.

The reasoning provided by the Takiyuddin is unquestionably valid but at the same time, there are ways around it based on best practices of other countries.

The UK Parliament returned on April 21 following significant technical and procedural work by their parliamentary staffs over the recess to allow Parliament’s work to continue in both new “hybrid” and “virtual” format using the Zoom video conference platform that was approved for use by the security and IT experts. 

The "hybrid" format means that a mix of members in the chamber and others participating by video conference and the “virtual” means that all members will participate by video conference. 

In addition to the parliamentary debates, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who was standing for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, also hosted the first virtual PMQs on 22nd April 2020. Additionally, the UK Parliamentary Select Committee also held their evidence session remotely through Zoom.

In New Zealand, Parliament adjourned as usual for the duration of the four-week nationwide lockdown as staffs and committees worked remotely. Parliament did meet physically on March 25 with a minimum number of MPs in attendance to receive and debate on a formal epidemic notice from Prime Minister Jacinda Arden. 

At the debate, MPs agreed to establish an Epidemic Response Committee which would allow both government and opposition MPs to scrutinise government actions and pass a bill in allowing the government to access the funding it needs to contain the crisis as well as agreeing to adjourn Parliament physically until the crisis reaches its conclusion. 

The wider voting mechanism would only be in committees, where each member would cast an individual voice vote remotely. In terms of the software usage, Zoom was used for remote meetings and SharePoint as well as Objective, which is an in-house document management software, was used for committee documents which means that all documents are held and managed on internal servers. 

Similarly to the UK, New Zealand’s Parliamentary Select Committees would meet remotely using video-conferencing or teleconferencing as this would allow witnesses and submitters to provide evidence.  

In the Maldives, despite measures that restrict travel and non-essential outings, the Parliament there continued with their session via Microsoft Teams, with members remotely joining the parliamentary sessions from their homes. 

The first online sitting was held on March 30 and it was attended by 71 MPs out of the 87 MP’s in total. The MPs debated a motion on the government’s proposed financial support programme as the country prepares for the economic and social impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trinidad and Tobago is another country worth mentioning as business in Parliament are as usual but with new seating arrangements put in place for MPs. Some MPs will be seated in the chambers while some others will be seated in designated meeting rooms throughout the parliamentary complex. 

These meeting rooms would have television screens for the MPs to view the proceedings. If there is a need to vote on a legislation, MPs who are not seated in the chamber would be allowed a few minutes to get to the chamber where they will cast their vote and then return to their meeting rooms.

Indeed many countries have found a solution to the problem to make sure that Parliament reconvenes despite the many challenges. Instead of using the pandemic as a reason, they have worked up a credible and substantive solution to make sure that laws are debated and passed in the right way.

While Takiyuddin might use the coronavirus as a reason not to sit for more than a day, the real reason behind this is clear and it is also interesting that Prime Minister Muhyiddin has not overruled the decision made by his colleague. Indeed the only reason that Parliament is sitting for only one day because the current Muhyiddin does not want to risk a vote of no confidence as it would outline whether he has the support of the majority of the MPs. 

In addition to that, it also shows that the government does not have the support of a simple majority in the Dewan Rakyat. But even if the prime minister has the support of the MPs it would only be a very slim majority making the Perikatan National government the weakest in Malaysia’s history and the prime minister does not want the risk of being painted as such. 

Indeed he would like to definitely buy some time and support from the opposition MPs. In addition to that, there has been some cracks within the government coalition and some form of disagreements among government MPs for not being appointed in ministerial positions although they were senior members of their respective political parties. 

In avoiding all kind commotions, the prime minister has decided to take a step back and regroup until he has a solid number in Parliament but making a mockery out of the parliamentary democracy in Malaysia should not be the way. 

Anyway, the government was formed by disrespecting the mandate of the people. 

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

Keep up with the latest information on the outbreak in the country with Malaysiakini's free Covid-19 tracker.

Malaysiakini is providing free access to the most important updates on the coronavirus pandemic. You can find them here.

Help keep independent media alive - subscribe to Malaysiakini.