PETALING JAYA: In view of the United Nations International Day of Parliamentarism on June 30, the government should reconvene the upcoming Dewan Rakyat session as soon as possible, says Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The PKR president said Parliament was not just a place where laws were passed, but was also a check-and-balance platform against the executive branch.
“This concept has been adopted in all democratic and semi-democratic countries in the world,” he said in a press statement issued Tuesday (June 30).
Anwar, referring to the UN website, Parliament was important during times of war and conflict, and even more so during the Covid-19 pandemic, with governments around the world being required to pass new laws.
In such times, he said, Parliament also served as a platform to ensure accountability and to monitor the government’s steps in order to curb corruption.
“However, what stands in stark contrast is the government of Malaysia, which not only lacks legitimacy but continues to tread on every aspect of democracy, including repeated refusal on every aspect of democracy including refusal to reconvene Parliament sitting,” he said.
Anwar said the phenomenon of governments avoiding parliamentary sittings was not something that happened in developed countries, including Singapore.
“It is only right for us to continue to pressure the government of the day to reconvene Parliament as soon as possible, and to hold the institution of Parliament as a pillar of democracy and rule of law,” he added.
The upcoming Parliamentary session will commence from July 13 to Aug 27.
It will be heavily watched as a motion of no-confidence against Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s leadership is expected to be tabled by the Opposition.
However, the no-confidence motion would depend on whether the Opposition is able to settle its deadlock over who should be its prime minister candidate.
-The Star