ليم كيت سياڠ تاڽ جك محي الدين ءتاكوتء اداكن سيدڠ خاص ڤرليمين
#TTFCovid19: Under a democracy which upholds the separation of powers and the rule of law, parliamentary scrutiny is a basic and fundamental function, especially in an unprecedented crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang said today.
Lim then questioned Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin whether the latter was ‘afraid’ of convening a special Parliament sitting on Covid-19.
This comes after it was announced that the upcoming Parliament sitting — slated for May 18 — would last for only one day with the agenda only involving the Agong’s opening address and no debates.
Lim further said it was a ‘crying shame’ that the UK Parliament met in a ‘virtual’ meeting over the government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis while its Malaysian counterparts dared not convene a special meeting over the same issue.
KUALA LUMPUR: Under a democracy which upholds the separation of powers and the rule of law, parliamentary scrutiny is a basic and fundamental function, especially in an unprecedented crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang said today.
Lim then questioned Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin whether the latter was ‘afraid’ of convening a special Parliament sitting on Covid-19.
“Is it because Malaysia is inherently undemocratic and not fit to have a system of parliamentary democracy as bequeathed by the nation’s founding fathers, based on the separation of powers, the rule of law and the Malaysian Constitution?
“It is in a parliamentary scrutiny that the problems faced by the people in a Covid-19 crisis could be brought up and resolved,” he said in a statement here.
Echoing similar calls by Opposition lawmakers for the next Parliamentary sitting to be extended beyond a single day, Lim said it was still not too late for the prime minister to convene a special parliamentary meeting on the Covid-19 crisis before the end of April.
This comes after it was announced that the upcoming Parliament sitting — slated for May 18 — would last for only one day with the agenda only involving the Agong’s opening address and no debates.
Parliament was supposed to have convened for 15 days from May 18 after the initial sitting was postponed from March 9 following a week-long political impasse that saw Perikatan Nasional emerge as the new government.
Lim further said it was a ‘crying shame’ that the UK Parliament met in a ‘virtual’ meeting over the government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis while its Malaysian counterparts dared not convene a special meeting over the same issue.
Lim yesterday questioned why Malaysia was still lagging behind in the adoption of virtual alternatives despite the existence of the Multimedia Super Corridor to hold “virtual” Parliament meetings.
Under emergency plans for “virtual sittings” agreed by parliamentary authorities, MPs were to ask questions of ministers in the chamber of the House of Commons by video link for the first time.
It was the first time in the 700-year history of the Commons that MPs will be able to quiz the government without being physically present in the building.
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