AZALINA Othman Said has once again urged the government to convene Parliament, which has been suspended under the emergency. 

The Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker said she was disappointed with the silence from the government and her fellow MPs to her previous call for Parliament to be convened. 

She said the government can impose a lockdown on the public but it must not lock down the process of democracy in the country. 

In a statement today, the Pengerang MP also suggested several standard operating procedure that can be implemented for Parliament to convene. 

“It would seem that the suspension of Parliament has not only crippled democracy but it has also crippled the capacity of government officials of basic courtesy to respond to valid concerns raised by MPs beyond the walls of Parliament. 

“I see no other way for Malaysia to move forward in this state of emergency but for Parliament to reconvene,” she said. 

Azalina said in order to minimise the spread of Covid-19 in Parliament, vaccines should be given to Parliament staff who she considered as “front-liners”. 

She added that there should be no motion of confidence to be heard to avoid unwanted “drama”. 

“Until and unless the pandemic is controlled and the herd immunity reaches 50%, no general election should be held but instead an interim emergency government with an emergency cabinet be formed, with all representation of all political parties,” she said. 

She then urged Putrajaya to invest in preparing for a virtual parliament and speech-to-text system. 

She also said Parliament was wide enough to ensure social distancing. 

“Even Zoom provided a polling option to facilitate voting processes and I am happy to use the mute button to annoy parliamentarians who talk too much. 

“The Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara are large enough to ensure social distancing. Do not worry about Standing Orders and constitutional parliamentary procedures as we are in an emergency,” said Azalina, who was appointed as the deputy speaker when Perikatan Nasional took over in March last year. 

Among the other standard operating procedure she said the government can use was the Special Select Committee as an alternative tool to establish a transparent inquisitorial process and promote executive accountability. 

“We had already suffered enough trade-offs by compromising basic democratic and individual rights for the sake of a public health crisis. By denying the rights of MPs to engage with the government, you are denying the rights of the people. 

“Public mistrust must be handled via public debate via Parliament. Given that Covid-19 is here to stay for years to come, we cannot afford to be under emergency forever. 

“Do we remain the only country in the world that has immobilised Parliament in times of crisis?” she asked. 

In February this year Azalina questioned the reasoning for the suspension of Parliament during the state of emergency. 

She said with the suspension, the legislature’s functions have been “emasculated” while the executive has a “free rein” over the country’s affairs as a result. 

In a letter addressed to Attorney-General Idrus Harun, she had said she was bewildered at how accommodations to facilitate sittings employed by other countries, such as lowering the quorum of MPs, flexible sitting times and broadcasting of chamber proceedings are not being used. 

On January 12, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah declared a state of emergency for the country until August 1 to curb the increasing number of Covid-19 infections. 

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had said the state of emergency proclaimed by the Agong was aimed at giving the government more powers to fight the pandemic. 

Muhyiddin added that under the emergency, Parliament and state assemblies are suspended, although the king subsequently said Parliament could convene during this period. – May 27, 2021.