Between boasting & cover-up: Why MH17 and not MH370?

When a Prime Minister summons Parliament for a special sitting or gives a special address in Parliament, it is because something very important has occurred. It could be that the country is facing a national calamity of sorts, or is being threatened with invasion by foreign forces. Or it could be because a plane from our national airline has gone missing, or has been blown to bits like what happened to MH17.

The purpose of such a sitting is to explain the event and the actions that have been taken as a result by the authorities, including the Prime Minister. At the same time, the special sitting gives other Members of Parliament the chance to offer constructive views to assist in the difficult situation. Members of the public usually come out better informed after such an open explanation.

I do not understand, however, why we did not have a special sitting of Parliament when the Sulu insurgents invaded Sabah, resulting in many deaths. We continue to face an uncertain situation in Sabah but there has still been no comprehensive explanation in Parliament for this security threat to the country. We also did not have a special sitting to debate the findings of the Royal Commission on the allegations that hundreds of thousands of foreigners were given identity cards in Sabah. There has been absolutely no news on this front either. Is this not also a security threat that warrants national attention?

In addition, I am perplexed as to why there was no special sitting when MH370 disappeared. The loss of MH370 was no less tragic than that of MH17 .There are issues that the Government must brief the public on, such as its handling of the tragedy, even if we still do not know what happened to the aircraft. The Government must be prepared to face questions from Members of Parliament, if only to convince the public that everything that needed to be done was done. At the very least, we could as a nation offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims, the way we did with MH17 (plus we can make the usual bravado resolutions to say that we intend to seek justice from the perpetrators, where ever they might be).

The point I am making is this: the special sitting of Parliament is required not just when things look good for the Prime Minister. It must be summoned whenever we have grave and difficult situations to face, regardless of what it would do to the PM’s image. A special sitting is not the place just to receive accolades and adulation, but where the Government’s accountability is put to the test.

The Prime Minister’s successful negotiation for the return of MH17’s black box and the bodies of the victims has catapulted him to hero status. That’s good for him. I see some excited friends of mine urging him on social media to show the same decisiveness and courage in domestic issues. They hope the “new” Najib will deal decisively on issues such as the conflict between civil and shariah law, the race-baiting politics that’s been going on and the many economic issues facing the poor.

I just want to remind my readers that a single swallow does not make a spring.

I am not belittling the PM’s effort. I believe he did the right thing dealing with the separatists. But it takes more creativity and courage to deal with “separatists’ at home . He needs to stand up to those who are deliberately fostering racial hatred; who undermines national unity in the most fundamental way. Until he does so and provide leadership for this country ; we must not be over excited about the new Najib

In the meantime, I would like to wish you all Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, and maaf zahir batin. Do please stay safe on the roads over this long break. -Zaid.my