#kerajaangagal73 – Full endorsement of Deputy Speaker, Azalina Othman’s reiterated call for the reconvening of Parliament

I fully endorse the Deputy Speaker, Azalina Othman Said’s reiterated call today for the recovening of Parliament.

I also full endorse her seven-point recommendation on standing operating procedures (SOPs) for Parliament in the war against Covid-19 pandemic, viz:

1. To minimise Covid-19 risks: Ensure that all parliamentary staffers are vaccinated including all MPs and senators.
2. To minimise unwarranted “drama” in Parliament: No “no confidence” in Parliament during the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic and no early general election unless pandemic is controlled and herd immunity of at least 50 percent is achieved.
3. To facilitate efficient parliamentary proceedings: Invest in preparing for Virtual Parliament and speech-to-text systems. Enforce quorum requirements for in-person parliamentary proceedings.
4. To promote “check and balance”: Use the Special Select Committees (SSCs) as an alternative tool to establish a transparent inquisitorial process and promote executive accountability. Make such hearings accessible to the public and in real-time so that the public can participate in the process.
5. To ensure fair allocation of constituency funds: Allocate “Constituency Covid-19 Funds” as a bipartisan tool to reset, restart and realign different political parties towards a common goal, ie to bring the Covid-19 pandemic under control.
6. To bridge the ever-growing political ideology gap: Work as one “Team Malaysia” to alleviate the “Confidence Crisis” which is clouding the nation.
7. To bridge the “trust deficit” between rakyat and administrators: Use MPs as agents of communication and public health information disseminators. Arm MPs with all the necessary health information and data on Covid-19, including myth-busters regarding the vaccine, so that MPs can help fight the war against the Covid-19 pandemic.

I am impressed with Azalina’s call which qualifies her to be the Speaker of Parliament.

I am disappointed by the Speaker, Azhar Azizan Harun who has failed to uphold the rights, powers and position of Parliament, as entrenched in the Malaysian Constitution, and in particular, to be in the forefront in the defence of parliamentary democracy in Malaysia.

The Speaker should provide leadership to defend Parliament’s rights, powers and privileges from encroachment and usurpation by the Executive as the Constitution is based on the doctrine of separation of powers where no one branch of government can encroach or usurp the powers and privileges of another.

Azalina said she had a chat with the Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah who said he had no objection to the reconvening of Parliament.

What then is the science-based reason for the Prime Minister to continue to oppose the reconvening of Parliament?