THE Parliament has sat and Covid-19 is under control and we keep seeing new norms, especially in the former.

But the old norm of shouting matches is still prevalent. Compare that with the time they came to ask for our votes during election – do they have split personalities?

And we put our trust in them to promulgate laws of the land.

Is it time for us to seriously think about how to elect our parliamentarians?

In a workplace, we need problem-solvers with an empathetic ear.

The most effective executives make good use of both their intelligence quotient (IQ) and their emotional quotient (EQ).

An analytical mind, eloquence and capacity for learning indicate high IQ and also EQ to read body language, as tuning into the emotional state of others can make a whole world of difference.

We need leader who are at ease switching between emotionally-driven decisions and intellectual ones to win over the people.

They must be able to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of complex situations and make nuanced decisions.

The “performances” of parliamentarians on the first day of Dewan Rakyat sitting speak volumes.

The ousted speaker managed to introduce few parliamentary reforms.

I do hope the new speaker can introduce better and more meaningful reforms. One of them is the discipline and conduct of “wakil rakyat” in the august house.

For example, a few of them have yet to declare their asset holdings. Parliament should play a role here since they are its members. In fact, declaration should be done quarterly. 

The previous government collaborated with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) to work out reforms.

The only body that can censure parliamentarians is the House Committee of Privileges that should be given more oversight functions. We need to have a parliament that is relevant to the people it serves.

It’s high time, we the electorate should be more concerned on the qualities of our representatives.

There should be a new norm and the Election Commission (EC) could play a big part in this.

The EC should be the human resource manager and implement standard operation procedures (SOP) to monitor them apart from regulating elections.

Remember, they receive pensions and that has to be discussed in a separate forum.

We need quality parliamentarians and the quality should be measured wherever possible. Starting with the promises made during campaigning, Parliament and constituency attendances and up to the fulfilment of voter expectations.

The evaluation could be based on the measurement of the scope one is capable of doing what one had declared to do.

Parliamentarian is as good as the leader or the party and party lines always dictate.

True, it is difficult to theoretically work out a list of defining characteristics of a good parliamentarian.

One way is to look around through history and present day for some good parliamentarian and use their successes, goodness and balancing acts as a yardstick.

In short, we need one who is principled, works for the good of the people and country, not for self-interest and most importantly, God-fearing.

End of the day, that person will be a statesperson. – July 19, 2020.

* Saleh Mohammed 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.