#kerajaangagal85 – Does the Parliament Speaker Azhar Harun still need to be convinced that the emergency is a colossal failure to combat the 17-monh Covid-19 pandemic?

Does the Parliament Speaker Azhar Harun still need to be convinced that the emergency declared on January 11, 2021 is a colossal failure to combat the 17-month Covid-19 pandemic?

Does he still need to be convinced that one reason for the emergency being such a colossal failure to combat the Covid-19 pandemic is because of the suspension of Parliament which removed the important constitutional safeguard of parliamentary scrutiny and “check-and-balance” to ensure Executive competence, efficiency and good governance?

If Azhar still thinks that the emergency declared on January 11, 2021 was the best thing that could have happened to combat the war against the Covid-19 pandemic, let him say so publicly loud and clear – for his might be a lone voice for I doubt that anyone in the bloated Cabinet, including the Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin himself, would dare to say so publicly.

When the emergency was declared on January 11, 2021, there were 138,224 cases after 12 months of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the nearly five months of the emergency, the cumulative total of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia increased by more than four times to 587,165 cases.

Before the emergency, there were 511 Covid-19 deaths after 12 months of the pandemic. In the nearly five months of the emergency, total fatalities increased by nearly six times to 2,993 fatalities.

In view of such data, I dare anyone – whether the Parliament Speaker or anyone in the Muhyiddin Cabinet – to declare publicly that the emergency declared on January 11, 2021 was a huge success in the war against the Covid-19 pandemic!

If the Parliament Speaker agrees that the emergency declared on January 11, 2021 was a colossal failure in the war against Covid-19 pandemic, and that one reason was the suspension of Parliament which unconstitutionally removed the important safeguard of Parliamentary “check-and-balance” to ensure Executive competence, efficiency and good governance, I would expect the Speaker to give positive consideration to the thoughtful and well-argued view expounded by the DAP MP for Bruas and former Speaker of Perak State Assembly, Ngeh Koo Ham, that Parliament had been unconstitutionally suspended (and which was published by Malaysiakin).

I had waited for a day for the Speaker’s response but there was none.

I spoke to Ngeh last night and learnt that the Speaker had been in private exchange of views with Ngeh.

This is most unsatisfactory. Whether Parliament had been unconstitutionally suspended is not a private matter but a most important public and national issue.

In the circumstances, Azar Harun must explain his position on the arbitrary suspension of Parliament during the emergency, and in particular, why he is acting as a spokesman of the Executive to Members of Parliament, instead of representing Members of Parliament to safeguard Parliament’s power and privileges from encroachment and usurpation by the Executive.

It was William Shakespeare who said: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them”.

Will Malaysia have a great Parliament Speaker?