Kit Siang urges Malaysians to ink online petition for 2-week parliament sitting

Lim Kit Siang has urged Malaysians to support an online petition demanding a two-week Parliament sitting to focus on the Covid-19 pandemic.

The DAP veteran has been among the vocal critics of the government's decision to hold a one-day sitting on May 18.

Lim, who is the MP for Iskandar Puteri, said Malaysians who want to see parliamentary democracy flourish must lend their signatures to the campaign initiated by reform movement Aliran last month.

“The petition deserves the support of all Malaysians who want to see parliamentary democracy flourish in Malaysia and not a system which is emptied of all meaning of parliamentary democracy and violating the important principles enshrined in the Malaysian constitution on the separation of powers and the rule of law.

“The Malaysian government is obdurate in its decision to hold a one-day parliament on May 18.

“The government has also no plan to prepare for a virtual parliament and parliamentary select committees, especially on health and social care although Malaysians have been urged by the government to prepare for the Covid-19 pandemic to last for as long as the next two years – until an effective vaccine is developed and widely available.

“Let us sign the online petition to make a difference,” he added in a statement this afternoon.

At the time of writing, the petition had garnered almost 30,000 signatures.

The petition stated that Aliran is shocked by the government's decision to convene a one-day sitting, pointing out that it would be the first sitting of the House since the “infamous 'Sheraton Move' led to a backdoor government.”

“This farcical one-day parliamentary sitting appears to be just to fulfil the constitutional requirement that parliament should convene no later than six months from the last parliamentary sitting. Parliament last met in December 2019.

“To defer the actual proceedings to July – more than eight months from the last proper sitting – makes a mockery of this constitutional requirement, which was aimed at ensuring that the executive does not hold a monopoly of power without any parliamentary oversight for too long.

“We call for at least a two-week parliamentary sitting from 18 May (excluding the Hari Raya break) – perhaps through teleconferencing or with proper social distancing – to be held as soon as possible so that critical issues can be tabled and debated immediately,” it added. - Mkini