Citing concerns about the spread of Covid-19, deputy speaker Mohd Rashid Hasnon said yesterday that the Dewan Rakyat committee would hold discussions with the government and opposition chief whips to determine the number of MPs allowed to attend the next Parliamentary session, which is set to start on Sept 6.
Meanwhile, health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah noted yesterday that there were 97 positive cases linked to the Parliament, including one death involving an aide of a deputy minister.
In a statement, Bersih’s steering committee said after more than a year living with Covid-19, suspending and postponing the Parliament should no longer be the anwer as the institution is a vital check and balance mechanism for the country to continue functioning properly.
“We are of the view that this is a repeat of the same reason used before to suspend the functioning of the Parliament.
“This is in light of the various available alternatives and technologies used by foreign counterparts so that their Parliaments could continue to operate effectively,” the group said in a statement.
It also questioned if the proposal to limit the attendance of MPs in the Dewan Rakyat was yet another attempt to delay and further postpone the sitting of Parliament.
“Or is this a move to prevent the motion of confidence against the prime minister from running smoothly and fairly?”
The group added that the stalled democratic process would further hamper efforts to address and curb the spread of the rapidly escalating Covid-19 pandemic.
“Amendments to the standing orders must be expedited to allow parliamentary sittings and parliamentary committee meetings to be held either virtually or in a hybrid mode,” Bersih said.
It also called for the health director-general to remain politically neutral and act professionally in discharging his duties.
“The pandemic should not be used for the political interests of the Perikatan Nasional-led government and to prevent the vote of confidence from taking place in Parliament.
“Furthermore, if the health director-general is not even able to bring the infections under control in one confined area of Parliament building for very important parliamentary sittings, can we actually expect him to be able to deal with the pandemic nationwide?”
The first meeting of the fourth session of the 14th Parliament will be for 15 days from Sept 6 to 30, while the second meeting will run for 32 days from Oct 25 to Dec 16.
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