Restore Our Parliament's Supremacy And Dignity

I have to write this article after seeing the symbol and function of democracy here in Malaysia being attacked. It was attacked by madness, incompetence and abuse of power by the speaker and the majority. The speaker has suspended the Opposition Leader and 3 others from Parliament for 6 months. All of these started with the issue of Anwar exercising his rights by bringing up the link between APCO and the Israel regime.

The issue got worse with the handling of the case by The Special Rights and Privileges Committee chaired by the speaker himself which denied Anwar a chance to defend himself from the suspension. The decision was also made without evidence from the Opposition on the viability of Anwar's statement.

Firstly, this is not the first time that Parliament under the speaker, caused an uproar. MP from Puchong Gorbind Singh Deo was suspended in Parliament for 1 year for bringing the Altantuya murder case in Parliament. I believe that the Parliamentarians, as representatives of the people have the right to ask question they deemed important for the public. The case of APCO, which consults the government on enhancing its image and the murder of Altantuya, obvious these two cases are of public interest.

It is the duty of Parliamentarains to act as an representative amd indirect informer to the people about the ongoings of the country. But the government decided not only to keep it in the dark, they also punished severely those who talked about it even in the hallowed halls of Parliament. How can a government claimed itself to be transparent and accountability when we the people don't know what's going on and whose accountable?

Secondly, diverting from the APCO issue, our Parliament must be given independence from the executive branch. The Parliamentary allocation is given from the federal government to the Parliamentarians through the party branches instead of Parliament to the parliamentarians. This creates the current situation where constituencies under BN are given allocation while PR constituencies are left to fend for themselves.

Therefore, voters who voted for PR collectively in a constituency will be punished with no development at worst, while at best the PR elected representatives can't decide how the area is to be developed when federal agencies will do the development work themselves. This is mockery of our Democratic practice when voters will be punished for not voting the government.

I believe it is time Parliament is empowered with the right to disburse allocation to all MPs equally where they are given a fair amount of freedom to decide on how the money is to be spend.

Furthermore, the cabinet here in Malaysia is very powerful where they made most of the decision. This is in sharp contrast with the US where the President must even get the consent of the Congress on the choice of cabinet ministers to the Supreme Court Judge Leader.

The Congress can even have a committee hearing on the conduct of the President like the one that happen to President Clinton involving Monica Lewinski case and President Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal.Such hearing can even lead to the President being impeached.

It would be ideal for Malaysia to see the power of the cabinet limited by the giving more power to the people through the Parliament. As a result, Parliamentary Committee in Malaysia is either as powerful or slightly less powerful than those in the US.( The Parliamentary Committee should at least has a representative from the Opposition, if not equal representation for it to be fair)This will allow Parliament to curb excesses by the government, may it be excesses in executing its power or otherwise or even vice versa where the government is granted more power for a specific puropse.

Finally, it is desirable for the Parliamentarians not to be just legislators, but be involved indirectly in policy making instead of the current practice of the bureaucrats doing the policy work. They should at least be allowed to make contribution in any policy with the help of the bureaucrats. For example, the Senate Committee of Banking and Finance in US will call anybody it deemed necessary to testify on the bailout of the financial Sector due to the Economic Crisis in 2008 where recommendations will be made for serious consideration for the President and his team.

This should be advocated as the bureaucrats have no mandate from the people and are not answerable to the people. Here in Malaysia, some civil servants put too much loyalty to the government over the people, thus despite their incompetence, they are given top post in the government. If Parliament can rein in this practice by giving consent or rejecting the appointment of MACC Chief or Inspector General of Police, that will enhance their performance and loyalty to the people.( Again voices of the Opposition must be heard for this to work effectively).

In conclusion, is time the government add meaning to their Slogan of 1Malaysia, Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan whcih means people and performance are of importance. One way this can be realised is giving power to the people and Parliament is where this power should be placed being the function and symbol of people sovereignty( Keadaulatan Rakyat).

Reform in our Parliamentary system must be carried out so the voices and aspiration of the people can be heard and realised and no one, including the speaker, should be allowed to stop it as only then can we, the people, be truly sovereign. Only then we will be treated in the manner that we deserve.HIDUP RAKYAT!