By Dominic Tham
EVER since the Government imposed the Emergency rule early this year, our legislatures have not convened. This has caused disquiet among the community who feels their democratic rights have been trampled on.
The argument goes that if schools, cinemas and pasar malam can reopen, why can’t Parliament and the respective state legislatures convene?
At a time of national crisis, the need for lawmakers to meet and pass laws becomes all the more critical. These Yang Berhormats were elected by the people after all.
So, when the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong stated late last month that Parliament can convene despite the Emergency, many were elated. But their joy was short-lived.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan has said that the federal legislatures would not meet at least until Emergency is over in August. He cited health concerns over the decision.
The Opposition, particularly supporters of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, are particularly adamant that the Dewan Rakyat should meet. Besides passing laws and debating national issues, they want to test the legitimacy of PM Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s government.
Prior to the Emergency proclamation, several Umno MPs had withdrawn their support for Muhyiddin, who was already hanging on to power by a thread. Coupled with the deaths of two pro-Muhyiddin MPs earlier, the opposition was confident the PM would lose a vote of confidence if one was called in the legislature.
But over the weekend, two Parti Keadilan Rakyat MPs crossed the aisle, as expectations mount for the Dewan Rakyat to convene. The defection, mathematically put Muhyiddin’s bloc back with numerical strength – although given the fluid nature of Malaysian politics, no one can tell for sure.
Despite the defection, Anwar believes the opposition still has the numbers, although his track record in delivering actual numerical strength in Parliament over the past 13 years leaves much to be desired.
While the Opposition is united in opposing Muhyiddin, the same cannot be said about their choice for his replacement. Anwar and ex-PM Tun Dr Mahathir are still vying to be the country’s ninth PM and their supporters continue to be divided along partisan lines, much to the delight of the PN bloc.
And even if the Dewan Rakyat convenes and a vote of confidence on Muhyiddin is held, there’s no telling how things will pan out, given COVID-19 is still raging and Emergency rule is still in force.
If Muhyiddin survives the vote, then Anwar and his cohorts can pack their bags in humiliation and wait out until the next general election to topple PN. But if Muhyiddin loses the vote, legal experts are divided over Muhyiddin’s options considering the Emergency is still in place.
In all likelihood, Muhyiddin is not going to take it lying down and give Anwar a free passage to Putrajaya. Going by the attempted coup in Sabah last year, Muhyiddin may advise the King to dissolve Parliament to pave the way for snap polls.
And if the Sabah polls are any lessons, Malaysia is not ready to hold any election as we are not out of the woods yet as far as the COVID-19 pandemic is concerned. The Sabah election has resulted in the Third Wave of the pandemic and a nationwide election can have dire health consequences.
So, therein lies the dilemma: allowing Parliament to convene may lead to the fourth wave of COVID-19 outbreak but not allowing it is an affront to democratic principles. At the end of the day, when politicians busy themselves with power games, it is the rakyat who suffer. – Mar 9, 2021
Dominic Tham is a FocusM contributor
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
