Rafidah: YB should mean Yang Berkerja, not Yang Bising

MPs should value parliament sessions and avoid circus acts, says former Umno Minister.

PETALING JAYA: Lawmakers should do away with honourifics such as ‘Yang Berhormat’ (honourable) and replace it with ‘wakil rakyat’ or people’s representatives as their official designation, Rafidah Aziz suggested.

In a Facebook posting, the former International Trade and Industry Minister argued that referring to Members of Parliament as ‘wakil rakyat’ would serve as a reminder to them that they were there to work for the people and not “make loud noises’ in Parliament.

Rafidah, known as the Iron Lady of Malaysia, said that when she became an MP in 1978, she knew that she was first and foremost a ‘wakil rakyat’ and a lawmaker second.

“And that the ‘YB’ stood not for ‘Yang Berhormat’ and ‘Yang Berhujjah’ (one who debates) or ‘Yang Bercakap’ (one who speaks) or ‘Yang Bising’ (one who makes noise), but ‘Yang Berkerja’ (one who works),” the former Wanita Umno chief wrote, adding that the public’s expectations were high.

She explained that this was why lawmakers, should value Parliament sittings and avoid debates that resemble “embarrassing” circus acts.

Rafidah said there must be a conscious effort to not only adhere to the Standing Orders and other Codes of Conduct that govern MPs, but to refrain from using Parliament as a vehicle to promote oneself, worse yet, to vent emotions and utter nonsense that have no place in the august House.

“Speaking in Parliament is a privilege given to only the very few.”

While, there will always be Opposition members in the House, Rafidah argued, that was not reason enough for any lawmaker to bring disrepute to Parliamentary sessions.

She also wondered what the younger generation, 50 years from now, would think if they ever got hold of the Hansard records that stated everything uttered in Parliament verbatim.

“Would they be inclined to think and surmise then, that the Parliament of today lacked what it takes to be taken seriously simply because some MPs behaved sans decorum and sans sense, and brought disrepute to the House?”

Rafidah’s post comes a day after speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia lamented that Opposition lawmakers did not optimise the time allocated to them, and preferred instead to indulge in arguments and disregard decorum.

Pandikar, was also reported to have said that the Opposition had failed in forming a shadow cabinet to speak on specific issues.