PERHAPS Malaysians have been wondering why different segments of society have been pressuring the government to extend its pathetic one-day parliament sitting beyond May 18. What’s the big deal? Here’s why the short sitting matters more than we think and how it directly affects us as citizens.

First and foremost, a functional system of checks and balances in government is absolutely necessary. This is even more so when the government of the day perverted the democratic process in coming into power, thereby destroying the very political equilibrium Malaysians have been hanging on to. 

An illegitimate government is not likely to honour the heart nor spirit of democracy, so this makes the need for a system of checks and balances more dire than ever. 

As Spider-Man likes to say, with great power comes great responsibility. Power should only be used for the common good, never as a tool to gratify one’s self-serving desires at the expense of others. 

So when it is abused and exploited by those in authority, this can only signal the inevitable decline of a nation. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and any government that obstructs or subverts attempts to keep it in check has no right to rule. 

In addition, parliament sittings encourage accountability and transparency. While it may not be a fail-proof way of ensuring that politicians stay clean and do good, there is nothing in this world that is remotely fail-proof anyway.

Certainly, no nation has ever become great from throwing these virtues out the window. No politician is above the law no matter how great, and those in positions of power must be held strictly accountable at all times.

Furthermore, Parliament sittings are a good platform for elected members of parliament to openly raise and address important issues affecting the rakyat. In an ideal setting, this is a conducive environment for MPs to put forth ideas and solutions for the betterment of those who voted for them. A true democracy always puts its people first, and this should be even more evident in times of crisis.  

However, instead of deliberating and deciding on how to help a nation hurting from Covid-19, Perikatan Nasional (PN) has disallowed any motions or debates on May 18. This effectively silences MPs from even bringing up the needs and concerns of their respective constituents during the first sitting of 2020. 

Millions of ordinary Malaysians have been devastated by the Covid-19 outbreak and the movement control order that came after. Is this in itself not enough to drive the government into immediate action? Yet despite fully knowing that people are suffering, PN has shut off all avenues for the rakyat to be heard through their MPs.

In the face of a ravaging health crisis and faltering economy, such a decision speaks volumes about PN’s priorities, and you can bet it’s not the rakyat’s wellbeing. The most burning issues affecting the nation have been shamelessly postponed to the next sitting. The longer PN delays, the more Malaysia crumbles.

Just what can sitting in parliament for a day achieve? But perhaps that is exactly what PN wants – that nothing be achieved at all. 

A one-day sitting would be making an utter mockery of our constitution and of democracy. Doing the barest minimum possible makes one thing crystal clear – Muhyiddin is convening parliament merely for the sake of filling a constitutional requirement, rendering it a hollow formality and nothing more. – May 1, 2020.

* Lara Ling reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.