Hold public hearings on lessons of pandemic, Kit Siang tells PSCs

 

DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang says each parliamentary select committee must find out how the pandemic has affected the area of their jurisdiction.

PETALING JAYA: DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang has called on the parliamentary select committees, in particular the one on health, science and innovation, to conduct public hearings on the Covid-19 lessons to be learnt in Malaysia.

He said this is necessary if Malaysia is to be prepared for the next pandemic, which medical experts have warned could come soon and be deadlier.

Furthermore, he said in a statement today, Malaysia has become one of the worst-performing nations in the pandemic – worse than Indonesia, a country more than eight times the population of Malaysia.

This was illustrated again by yesterday’s numbers for daily new cases and deaths, with Indonesia reporting 1,261 new cases and 47 deaths compared to Malaysia’s 7,276 cases and 103 deaths.

“This situation has been going on for more than a week,” the Iskandar Puteri MP said.

Lim said Parliament has approved an increase of the number of members in the parliamentary special select committees from seven to nine, with five from the government and four from the opposition.

“It is time for the 10 parliamentary special select committees to be fully formed in the next 12 days before the Dewan Rakyat is reconvened on Oct 25 for the 2022 Budget session and for each committee to inquire how the Covid-19 pandemic had impinged and impacted on the area of their jurisdiction,” he said.

He said the UK House of Commons website shows that apart from the latest report describing the pandemic as one of the “worst public health failures” in UK history, the various parliamentary select committees have submitted 57 reports related to the pandemic.

For instance, he said, the justice select committee has submitted seven reports, including the pandemic’s impact on prisons, the legal profession, the court and tribunal reforms and the probation service.

The Home Affairs select committee has submitted six reports, including the Home Office’s preparedness with regard to domestic abuse and risks of harm with the home, immigration and visas, institutional accommodation and management of the borders.

There are also more than 50 ongoing inquiries on the impact of the pandemic on the various spheres of life by the various committees.

“Malaysia’s parliamentary special select committees have a lot to catch up to play the important role of check-and-balance to the Executive as intended by the Federal Constitution and the memorandum of understanding signed by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the Pakatan Harapan leaders on Sept 13,” he said. - FMT