Parliament can convene if MPs stop politicking, pundits say

The Dewan Rakyat sitting can convene if parliamentarians put aside their political agenda and only focus on issues concerning the people, political analysts say.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) geostrategist Azmi Hassan said problems arise when the Parliament sitting is used to question the government's legitimacy as it is said to have lost its majority.

"The problem is when the Parliament sitting is exploited for political agenda, such as to pressure the prime minister to resign, to dissolve the Parliament, to question the majority, and so on.

"It is not utilised for check-and-balance to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic," he said.

If the lawmakers, Azmi added, could produce a pledge in the form of a letter not to question the government's legitimacy, it is possible that the Parliament sitting can be resumed.

The Parliament and State Legislative Assembly sittings have been suspended following the emergency proclamation by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Jan 12. The state of emergency was declared to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, which recorded a consecutive four-digit daily rise in new cases since last November.

Critics slammed Muhyiddin and accused him of using the emergency as part of his arsenal to stay in power after losing the majority in the Dewan Rakyat.

For the record, at least three MPs have withdrawn their support for the Muhyiddin-led government. They are Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Machang MP Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub and Padang Rengas MP Nazri Abdul Aziz.

Another political analyst, Jeniri Amir, echoed the same sentiment, saying that the Parliament sitting can be resumed if the lawmakers only focus on five aspects - namely Covid-19, security, education, the people, and policy.

Jeniri advised all MPs to cease politicking.

"It is publicly known that the Parliament sitting has been suspended because MPs have their political agendas.

"In a situation like this, it's best for them to only focus on the people. If that's the case, there's no problem to convene the Parliament sitting," he said.

On the other hand, Awang Azman Awang Pawi of Universiti Malaya called for the Dewan Rakyat sitting to be held as soon as possible.

"The people are dumbfounded as there are many sectors allowed to reopen but the sitting of the Parliament, which only focuses on 222 MPs, is not allowed.

"Many believe that this (the suspension) was politically motivated.

"Hence, it is best for the Parliament sitting to convene as soon as possible as there are many issues to be debated during the pandemic," Awang Azman told Malaysiakini.

He suggested that the government holds the Parliament sitting virtually if it is worried about a Covid-19 outbreak. - Mkini

✍ Credit given to the original owner of this post : ☕ Malaysians Must Know the TRUTH

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