YOURSAY | ‘If everyone is a ‘yes man’ then why even bother paying salaries for 222 MPs?’

Parliament can convene if MPs stop politicking, pundits say

BlueShark1548: Geostrategist Azmi Hassan, what politicking are you talking about? If Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin does not have a majority in Parliament, is it politicking to bring down a minority government?

Why can't a unity government be formed by a coalition supported by a substantial majority of MPs instead of the present Perikatan Nasional (PN) government which has lost its majority and sustained its position because of the declaration of emergency and the suspension of Parliament?

DalvinK: What's politics without politicking? I don't mind politicians doing politicking - it's the nature of their business.

But playing dirty just to stay in power, that is beyond politicking. That is what Muhyiddin has been desperately trying to do - to stay in power with slim majority support.

The fact that the country is almost open up amidst the state of emergency, yet politicians can't gather to discuss the matter speaks volume about how dirty his strategy is.

FairComments: We are not a dictatorship like China. We are a parliamentary democracy under which MPs debate proposed policies by the government and pass them if the majority say so.

What is this geostrategist talking about when he practically advocates that Parliament should act just like a rubber stamp while we are fighting the pandemic.

Politics cannot be avoided under our system of parliamentary democracy. The role of tackling the Covid-19 pandemic should be undertaken by an efficient civil service as civil servants are there permanently while politicians come and go.

Hence, it is not valid argument to say that the present government must not be legitimately changed and that it will jeopardise the fight against the pandemic.

I believe that all the ministries are up and running under the respective leadership of the directors-general, not so much the politicians.

So as long as good policies are in place, with or without the politicians, the civil servants under the respective leadership of the DGs should be able to implement the policies already set out even if there is a change of government.

Kepala Tak Centre: Azmi, this is how democracy works. People and the assembly have the right to ask questions.

If you don’t want anybody to ask questions, then declare Malaysia a communist country where one party rules and all assembly decisions are rubber-stamped.

Petz: "It is publicly known that the Parliament sitting has been suspended because MPs have their political agendas...” What a quote from political analyst Jeniri Amir.

For sure, politicians are supposed to be politically motivated, that is their job. What is he talking about?

The fact is, PN has lost its majority and afraid to convene Parliament, so it is the PN politicians that should just stop being politicians.

Mano: Parliament is the ultimate check and balance. If the balance says the present government has lost its mandate, something, of course, the sitting MPs must bring forth, then the present illegitimate government has to resign.

If the government is illegitimate, all decisions by the present government is illegitimate and invalid. How can they legitimately take care of the rakyat, Covid-19, education, etc?

What are these political analysts talking about? No wonder the graduates they produce are also ‘half-past six’.

Two Come Out: What incredible and illogical reasoning. By nature, it’s MPs’ job to do politicking.

That's like asking lecturers to not teach but just ask students to read books only.

It’s MPs' right to question the government, especially when taxpayer funds were spent willy-nilly to sponsor three community halls in one small piddly town.

Disagreement and discord are bread and butter in Parliament. If everyone is just a ‘yes man’, then why even bother paying the salaries for the 222 MPs?

Is this what you teach at the university? No wonder they have difficulty getting a job.

Very Concerned Citizen: What nonsense is this?

First, this is not an elected government. Secondly, this backdoor government stole what the rakyat voted for. Thirdly, this backdoor government does not comprise equally all the Malaysians of this country.

Look at the majority of the countries in the world where democracy prevails. Are we equating our country to Myanmar, which is an elected government taken over by the military? Surely not, because we have a Parliament and an elected government.

What are they afraid of? Scared of the truth being told in Parliament? Please wake up from your slumber.

Darmakochi: I, too, agree with many other commenters here. The onus is on the prime minister to bring the MPs from the opposition to his side at least for the short period till the Covid-19 threat is handled.

Now the elected, appointed and rewarded members are starting to bermaharajalela (go rampant) instead of addressing the woes of the average Malaysians regardless of race, religion, state and sex or sexual orientation.

Please remember we have more ministers than the secretaries of the various portfolios in the United States!

Jamy: Agree. The legitimacy of the government must be established first, otherwise, we are setting a precedent for future leaders to use the emergency to stay in power even though they do not have the support.

The fight against Covid-19 is already set in motion. It is left to the Health Ministry and its officials to handle the matter and not the 222 MPs.

The rest of the MPs should be concentrating on other important issues facing the nation.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.