ONCE humanity is over with this pandemic, there is no amount of documentation, reporting and research that would be able to quantify the impact Covid-19 has wreaked upon us.

The permanent loss of jobs and incomes, the psychological impact of working from home, the forced separation from loved ones while people are forced to adjust their attitudes and habits during these times are only among the many consequences that we must consider if we ever return to the old normal.

However, what is equally important and has been left out of the discussion is the political impact that Covid-19 has brought and how Parliament has been severely weakened and its role in our politics diminished.

There is currently tension brewing between the two most people in Parliament, speaker Azhar Azizan Harun and deputy speaker Azalina Othman Said. Just imagine the uproar it would create in other countries if the speaker and deputy speaker of the House were penning opinion pieces and giving interviews opposing each other’s views on the reconvening of Parliament.

This is precisely what has been happening for the past two weeks in Malaysia’s politics and the fact that little attention was being paid tells us a lot about how the nation views Parliament itself.

And this is through no one’s fault because businessmen and working people are already overwhelmed by sudden lockdown announcements, flip-flopping standard operating procedure (SOP) and having to figure out which letter to apply for work purposes.

The public is frustrated with politics and have no time to argue for the reopening of parliament when politics and policies are seen to either be ineffective or working against public interest.

Even if Parliament is allowed to function to its fullest, there is a public perception that it will not improve the situation but rather create a political stage for further politicking. The opposition’s no show during the second reading of the budget last year is testament to that fact.   

This is perhaps how the controversial suspension of Parliament could still be sustained because although the public are furious and frustrated with the Perikatan Nasional government, they are not angry enough about the suspension of Parliament.

Coming back to the tussle between the speaker and deputy speaker, the former certainly did not mince his words when defending the decision to suspend parliament – against the view of his deputy – indirectly labelling her as a politician who is politically motivated to reopen parliament – a label that is perhaps a little derogatory to the office of the deputy speaker given how politicians are perceived in Malaysia these days.

True, it may be that Azalina is a Member of Parliament appointed as deputy speaker, and it is also true that the reopening of Parliament might in some way serve the interests of her political party, but it is totally unfair to bat away everything she says as serving a political agenda.

A self-interested politician might argue for a policy change in his own political interests, but it should not be dismissed so easily on the basis that it is “playing politics” so long as the policy change is beneficial to the public.

And the question of whether Parliament should be reopened could only be determined by how the suspension of it is important to controlling the pandemic, especially since the emergency ruling did not bring about any significant change in holding the pandemic at bay.

And the most significant effects of emergency rule that has been felt thus far has been the suspension of Parliament.

In that sense, Azalina, as the deputy speaker of the house, is duty bound to argue for the reconvening of parliament and to question the government so that the executive is seen not to be actively interfering with the workings of parliament in the spirit of separation of power.

However, Azhar, as the speaker of the House, is largely silent on such matters. The speaker even penned a piece stating clearly that the power to suspend Parliament comes from the executive under the constitution and therefore the speaker is powerless under such circumstances.

Although it is true that the suspension of Parliament was initiated by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and that the speaker cannot reconvene Parliament by himself, as an embodiment of the house, the speaker is the first defender and protector of the interests and concerns of the house.

The speaker must always ensure Parliament could perform its role as representative of the electorates, making laws and holding the government accountable. It is unfortunate that the current speaker of the house offers none of that other than using the federal constitution as an escape clause.

The total silence of the first spokesman of the house on the matter also further weakened its standing and, as such, the executive’s interference is further enhanced by it enjoying an elevated role in deciding parliamentary affairs.

It is certainly not normal for the law minister, Takiyuddin Hassan, to release a statement saying the government is exploring ways to organise a “hybrid parliament” session; the statement would be more appropriate coming from the office of Parliament.

Home minister Hamzah Zainuddin’s statement that Parliament will only sit after the country has achieved herd immunity is also deeply troubling. How can a home minister in charge of the police and immigration be authorised to speak about the workings of Parliament?

All this speaks to the troubled state of Malaysia’s parliament, and I am afraid Dewan Rakyat would already be a tamed beast by the time it reconvenes.

And that is another Covid-19 impact that takes much more than a vaccine or lockdown to address. – June 6, 2021.

* Kenneth Cheng has always been interested in the interplay between human rights and government but more importantly he is a father of two cats, Tangyuan and Toufu. When he is not attending to his feline matters, he is most likely reading books about politics and human rights or playing video games. He is a firm believer in the dictum “power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will”.

* 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.