PARLIAMENT House is not the sole, sacred venue for sittings, which can take place elsewhere and in other forms in this age of technology, said a group of petitioners.

The government must not shun technology and the possibilities it offers, they said in response to Putrajaya’s refusal to consider a virtual parliamentary session.

Thousands of people have signed a petition to the MPs asking that them to lobby the government to convene parliament on a virtual platform instead of limiting a real life session to one day.

As of this morning, 3,800 people have signed the petition started by former Umno MP Tawfik Ismail calling for a virtual parliament to sit at once.

Tawfik, who was the Sungai Benut MP, said a virtual session would enable lawmakers to comply with the movement control order (MCO) and work at the same time.

“Parliament exists to debate and argue expenditure and proposed enforcement legislation,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“This is the new normal. MPs are not allowed under the current health restrictions to even travel to their constituencies. In business deals are done online without the principals being present.”

Parliament is set to convene for a day on May 18. Aside from formalities involving the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, little else is on the agenda, which has written off the oral and written question sessions and motions.

The sitting is held only to discuss government spending on measures to mitigate the socio-economic impact of Covid-19.

Dewan Rakyat secretary Riduan Rahmat in a letter to MPs earlier this month said the one-day only decision was in compliance with orders for social distancing.

However, the opposition and civil society have criticised the time limit as making a mockery of parliament. They have cited examples of parliaments in other countries that have managed to  continue working with adaptions to the current crisis conditions

For example, Tawfik said British MPs had backed a proposal to hold a virtual House of Commons session for the first time in the chamber’s 700-year history.

On arguments that lawmakers are required to be physically present at a sitting, Tawfik said: “If something as sacred and legally binding as a marriage can be performed online, what compulsion is there for physical presence in this? The PM is in our living rooms when he addresses us via TV, does that make his instructions or advice invalid?”

“I understand the king does video conferencing too,” he said in reference to the Agong’s pre-Cabinet meeting video calls with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Tawfik, is the son of former deputy prime minister Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman.

Constitutional expert Shad Saleem Faruqi and former president of the Bar Ambiga Sreenevasan are among the signatories on his petition.

Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi, professor of architecture at UCSI University, is another.

He said the Parliament building was not designed to accommodate social distancing of at least a metre apart.

“Designers never had this virus in mind. Nevertheless, Parliament is just a building. It is not so sacred a place that lawful proceedings can only be held there. 

“Parliament is a sitting of lawmakers, it is not an architectural space. 

“Sittings can be held anywhere, even under a tree as indeed happened during the Perak constitutional crisis in 2009.”

Civil rights lawyer and activist Siti Kasim, another signatory, said parliament must continue to conduct its business as the third branch of government to ensure that decisions and debates provide checks and balances and that lawmakers “are not pushed aside by executive power.” 

“Even our highest court must find a way to continue to function. Today’s world is well equipped with the capabilities to carry out such virtual functions. Corporations have adapted. The government must be equally responsive.”

She said the law does not require sittings to conducted in a specific building: “And the parliament body can be convened as decided by its members with the speaker assembling it virtually or otherwise.” 

“What if Parliament is destroyed by flooding or is bombed out in an act of terrorism, for example. Get with the 21st century already.”

Former World Bank economist Lim Teck Ghee noted that many democratic governments have continued to function as usual during the pandemic. 

“Why should we be an exception?  The concern that people are sick of politics and politicians may be correct. But they also want to know and have accountable what the Government is doing. Parliament is the right place to share and defend developments with the public. 

“Delaying it will lead the public to to suspect a hidden political agenda or fear to tell the truth about the crisis and its impact.”

The May 18 sitting was originally scheduled for March 9 before the Pakatan Harapan coalition was ousted as a result of political manoeuverings and the defection of Bersatu under Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to the side of Umno and PAS.

PH lawmakers have pressed Muhyiddin to hold a longer sitting, accusing him of attempting to forestall a challenge to the legitimacy of his office and government.

The minister overseeing parliamentary affairs, Takiyuddin Hassan has rebuffed suggestions for alternative venues and forms for a sitting. – April 28, 2020.