No need to limit number of MPs in hall, all have been vaccinated - NGOs

 

The parliamentary session scheduled to convene on July 26 should allow all lawmakers to attend instead of limiting it to only 80 MPs at each sitting, said a group of civil societies who call themselves the Seed Community for a Professional Parliament.

Their statement comes after Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Rashid Hasnon reportedly said Parliament is looking at limiting the number of MPs at each sitting to 80 when it reconvenes on July 26.

Seed Community for a Professional Parliament said this “excuse”, which is similar to how the last Parliament session was run last year, is no longer relevant as all MPs have been vaccinated against Covid-19.

“Even more so when it has been reported that nearly all Parliament employees including the staff escorting the MPs qualified for early vaccinations, and all of them will complete their vaccinations by the end of July.

“Therefore, with such strict SOPs, all MPs should face no obstacles in attending Parliament with the full numbers,” the group said in a statement today.

The statement was jointly signed by Bersih, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), Engage and Bait al-Amanah.

The group said there are too many issues nationwide which have been set aside for too long as Parliament has not been in session for seven months and the lawmakers have no opportunity to debate on these issues.

The Perikatan Nasional (PN) government’s various lockdowns, the phases of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) and the emergency proclamation have not been able to resolve the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis in the country, they added.

“It is now time to give MPs all the space they need to bring forth all the rakyat’s worries and at the same time offer the best solution,” the group said.

Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Rashid Hasnon

The government should take heed of how other countries proactively run their Parliament in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, they said, through ways like amending Standing Orders in order to implement a hybrid Parliament sitting.

A hybrid Parliament sitting or even a fully virtual one would not need to restrict the powers of the lawmakers including their power to vote, and it should not be feared as a potential excuse to postpone the next Parliament session, the group advised.

As such, Seed Community for a Professional Parliament urged the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara to get the relevant committees to prepare amendments to the regulations that are needed to hold a hybrid or fully virtual Parliament session and pass them within the next sitting.

“We once again stress that all MPs elected by the rakyat are the country’s frontliners and whom the rakyat have placed their hopes on, and they must be given an important role to play in this precarious situation of fighting this tragic pandemic,” they said.

Previously, Rashid had said the matter of limiting the number of MPs at each sitting to 80 would be discussed with the chief whips of political parties and will be decided soon.

This suggestion is similar to what was set during the last Parliament meeting last year, where only 80 out of the 222 MPs were allowed to enter at one time.

Rashid had also said the seating allocation was 44 MPs from the government and 36 for the opposition. - Mkini