Here's the SOP for 'hybrid' Parliament

 

June 16 this year was a momentous day for Malaysia, when the king and state rulers issued their royal decrees to convene Parliament and state assemblies as soon as possible, among others. 

The king wanted Parliament to debate the 2021 emergency ordinances he proclaimed as the constitution stipulated, and the National Recovery Plan issued by the prime minister the day before. 

This was an unprecedented collective move by the royalties for several reasons; notably, it was against the wishes of the government, and it seems the king wants to end his emergency proclamation earlier but not beyond the stipulated date.

The message was loud and clear, or so I believed. What happened next was totally unexpected. The government seems to be confused with what to do with the decree, to put it mildly. Thirteen long days later nothing has happened. In days past, heads would have rolled, literally.

Instead, the decrees have released a maelstrom of fiery debate among the government, politicians, intellectuals, lawyers and all and sundry. Royal decrees are never questioned in public, and if necessary, resolved within closed doors by the powers that be. The cabinet has to support the king in public.

However, it seems the cabinet is caught in a bind. In essence, it boils down to what two simple words mean, namely "as-soon-as-possible" and "hybrid".

Without recalling the silly arguments, the cabinet has decided that "as-soon-as-possible" means a duration of up to October to convene Parliament. They claim it is not possible to do it earlier, because it takes that long to come up with the standard operating procedure (SOP) for a "hybrid" Parliament.

We have to accept their interpretation of "as-soon-as-possible", as the cabinet finds it unnecessary to have an audience with the king to clarify matters.

What I can do, as a layperson and a humble loyal subject of the king, is to propose an SOP for the "hybrid" Parliament. Hopefully, this facilitates the cabinet which has laid grand plans to resolve this matter, through a high-powered committee with a work schedule that fills up the time up to October.

Suggested SOP

I am proposing this SOP based on the observation of how Parliament proceedings were actually conducted since independence. This is a fail-proof way of ensuring it does conform to all rules and regulations, in particular the Constitution and standing orders. 

The only difference now is the need to safeguard the life and health of the people’s representatives amid the raging pandemic, at whatever cost. The government claimed that this peril was the sole reason that held back Parliament, even if it means preventing them from doing the constitutional duty to uphold democracy.

Rule 1: Limit the number of MPs on the floor of the House to about 50 at any one time. This will be double the quorum needed.

This is based on the observation that only such a number of MPs are present during Parliament sessions. The rest were loitering around the building doing their own business, or just clocking in and disappearing.

Rule 2: Allocate the above 50 to parties based on their number of MPs. The parties decide who to attend based on need and can be rotated.

Rule 3: The MPs are to be given adequate spaces within the Parliament building, preferably unoccupied rooms, so they are safely cocooned from Covid-19. Facilities should be provided to follow the proceedings from where they are.

In fact, since all 222 MPs are suddenly keen to attend Parliament session, it should be made mandatory for full attendance. Letting them loiter all over Klang Valley, exposes them to grave danger, which defeats the purpose of this SOP itself. Literally, they should be locked down for the duration of the Parliament session.

Rule 4: In case voting is required, this can be done on a bloc vote basis, and MPs voting on the floor on a staggered basis.

Rule 5: Only a minimum of Parliament staff should be available. Each minister can bring in only one ministry staff; after all, ministers should know their job as they speak so eloquently in public. All restaurant facilities to be closed, only take-ways to be provided. No grand banquets or elaborate served meals.

Rule 6: No need for any physical renovation for social distancing. Each MP will have five seats of separation in the 222-seat house. The fire department is ever willing to disinfect the whole building every couple of hours.

There you have it, it is so easy. But wait, where is the virtual component? Exactly, the "hybrid" word is a red herring. It was a clever delaying tactic. Why do we need to experiment with a physical-virtual setting now? Actually, this is a non-issue. If only the cabinet and the speakers re-orientate their minds from “delaying as long as possible” to “convening as soon as possible”, we do not have to teach a fish how to swim.

MPs have all been fully inoculated, and by all estimates, they only have a 10 percent chance of contracting the virus, that too with mild symptoms. The rakyat who have not been vaccinated would have a 90 percent risk of contracting the virus, yet they have to work to earn a living exposing themselves to the Covid-19 danger. 

Does it make sense that the government is so concerned about the health of the MPs, so much so that it has denied their constitutional duty, but with full pay? In a democracy, elected representatives should lead and protect, not cower behind the rakyat especially in a calamity.

Parliament to convene in 10 days?

The situation is dire, the government has announced the third round of a full lockdown. Even if they are doing a good job, the plight of the people has to be heard and debated in Parliament.

I believe the text of the Emergency Ordinance 2021 was based on the written “advice” of the cabinet, and drafted by the legal advisor to the government. As they claim the king has to "follow" the advice given, accordingly the king may direct the speakers to convene Parliament on a given date as per para 14(1)(b) of the EO. 

As to the notice of 28 days, Parliament has convened before on shorter notice during crisis situations, and a notice of 10 days is feasible.

Many may be wondering why the government is fixated on the October deadline. As I commented in Malaysiakini on the day the National Recovery Plan was announced, it seemed that the government intended to convene Parliament only in October to table the 2022 budget and then adjourn to seek the approval of the king for a general election. 

I believe this was confirmed subsequently by the prime minister. At that point in time, the king has absolute discretionary powers to accede to the request or to appoint someone else who has a majority. Honestly, I feel that it will be suicidal to conduct a general election in the next year or so, amid the worsening recurring pandemic globally even after sizeable vaccination.

In the past week, we have heard several heart-breaking callous statements from the government. One minister claimed the fact people are freely moving about shows the government’s success in controlling the pandemic.

Another minister is blasting everyone else around the world on vaccine hoarding, when he should be focused on vaccinating the public, seniors especially who have been waiting for months. 

The Health director-general proclaims the one-month lockdown has successfully avoided the disaster of the projected 40,000 cases. If so, why was it not implemented in October last year when cases started to rise, resulting in a continuous disaster since then.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang lashed out at critics of the government as the “people who are in the bowels of the ship, trying to breach the hull.”

Yes, the once majestic Malaysia is fast sinking. The ones caught in the bowel are the innocent rakyat. The ones safely cocooned on the upper deck are the policymakers and elites. They seem lost and issue confusing and contradictory directives every day taking us deeper into the ocean.

Never before, I believe, were the rakyat so united in their faith, hope, relevance and expectations on the revered royal institution to get us out of this intractable crisis. We are desperately reaching out for a lifeline. - Mkini

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RAMAN LETCHUMANAN was director, Environment/Conservation, Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (1993-2000), head of Environment/Haze/Disaster Management, Asean Secretariat, Jakarta (2000-2014), and senior fellow at S Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2014-2016). He is a subscriber of Malaysiakini. Email: raman.asean@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.