COMMENT | Do we need a Parliament? Musings in the haze

COMMENT | No. This is not about promoting some Machiavellian scheme to install an authoritarian regime by stripping Parliament of its functions. This is a reflection on whether we have become so accustomed to the theatre that we have forgotten what the stage was erected for.

Parliament, for all its faults, is one of the bulwarks against a Hobbesian free-for-all.

In theory, the hallowed chambers are where power is supposed to be scrutinised, and those entrusted with it held to account.

But whenever Parliament is in session, I find myself grappling with the same conundrum again: Do we need a Parliament?

Three times a year, the nation’s lawmakers, at least those who do not play truant, descend upon the august house. But I cannot help feeling that these sittings amount to little more than the periodic congregation of some of the nation’s more dubious and morally flexible characters, assembled under one roof and at public expense.

It is like hiring a fox to stand watch over the henhouse.

Not too long ago, there appeared to be a choice between different breeds of watchdogs to keep the foxes out. Some Malaysians were convinced that the poultry would be safe if a particular breed was hired.

It did not take long for that assumption to be put to rest.

Animal instincts or trained behaviour?

Now, Malaysians are being asked to choose between foxes that tear through the henhouse with bloodied claws and jaws, and watchdogs that bare their teeth only when politically convenient, then retreat into silence whenever the status quo is threatened.

I was once a firm believer in the promise of a new dawn. Then political reality intervened, and the dawn never quite arrived. Now, I find myself dwelling in a protracted haze that seems to have settled over the political landscape.

I watched those who had once paraded their unimpeachable moral rectitude sacrifice principles and pledges on the altar of realpolitik, as their leaders conjured a menagerie of excuses and justifications while the faithful buried their heads in the sand.

One resignation, caveat and all, does not a summer make.

So many “red lines” have been crossed that, to borrow an internal-combustion-engine nomenclature, we cannot be faulted for wondering whether politicians come equipped with rev limiters – electronic safeguards that are supposed to prevent an engine from crossing its RPM red line.

In an age of coalitions and alliances stitched together from strange bedfellows and held together by the thread of political compromise, where manifestos and past promises seem to have little meaning, one is left to ponder a rather inconvenient question: what exactly is the purpose of parliamentarians?

And if brutal honesty is permitted to enter the chambers, then in this arena of political pretence, only a handful can genuinely lay claim to the honorific “Yang Berhormat” - The Honourable - let alone the other grand titles that so often precede their names.

Often, what passes for debate within those four walls is little more than theatrics, grandstanding, personal jibes, demagoguery and unruly behaviour.

At a time when the country is negotiating delicate fault lines of race and religion, one would expect those entrusted with representing the public to exercise some restraint and responsibility. But alas, that would be akin to hoping a storm might repair the roof it has just damaged.

Paid in orchards, yielding only a leaf

To be fair, there are occasional flashes of meaningful debate in Parliament. These are moments when lawmakers appear to remember the voters who put them there.

But the remuneration that comes with the job is anything but occasional.

An MP is entitled to RM25,700 in salary and fixed allowances, on top of various other allowances and claims depending on eligibility and official duties.

READ MORE: Allowances and perks: How much do MPs, speakers and deputy speakers get?

Entitlements include:

Fixed monthly

· Salary: RM16,000 per month

· Entertainment allowance: RM2,500 per month

· Special payment for non-administration MPs: RM1,500 per month

· Fixed travel allowance: RM1,500 per month

· Fuel allowance: RM1,500 per month

· Driver allowance: RM1,500 per month

· Phone expenses: RM900 per month

· Toll allowance: RM300 per month

Work claims

· Parliamentary sitting allowance: RM400 per day

· Government agency meetings and workshops: RM300 per day

· Hotel allowance for domestic duties more than 32km from home: Up to RM400 per night

· Daily stipend during business trips: RM100 a night (domestic), RM170 a night (international)

· Food allowance when overseas: RM340 a night

Purchases and subsidies

· Computer purchase: Up to RM6,000

· Handphone purchase: Up to RM2,000 in two years

· Ceremonial attire allowance: Up to RM1,500

· Black-tie attire subsidy: RM1,000 once every three years

· Warm clothing

Perks

· Free vehicle license

· Business-class air travel on official trips

· First-class rail travel on official trips

· Free first-class single room ward in government hospitals

Of course, all this is merely a little context as the prime minister prepares to table Budget 2027 tomorrow.

As for the upper house? There is little to be said. And perhaps that, in itself, says rather a lot.

There is, of course, another layer of “blue-blooded” power beyond the parliamentary chambers, which does not answer to elections and into which few politicians would dare venture, further constraining the effectiveness of lawmakers.

The real danger is not that Parliament exists. It is what happens when Parliament loses its meaning.

The question may no longer be whether we need a Parliament, but whether those elected to occupy its benches still remember why it exists in the first place.

So, do we need a Parliament? That, perhaps, is a question best left to the MPs and senators to answer. But it would require them to indulge in something that does not come naturally to politicians - honest introspection.

As for us voters, we should remember that Parliament is also a reflection of the electorate. Perhaps the lesson is not to give up, but to become more discerning about whom we pick.

And if the choices before us are far from inspiring, perhaps the answer is not to abandon the stage, but to stop applauding actors who have forgotten what the play is about.

RK ANAND is a member of the Malaysiakini team.

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