Parliament remains in focus as MPs quiz rationale behind closure

KUALA LUMPUR – Politicians from both sides of the divide have rubbished the government’s move to close Parliament for the next two weeks.

The MPs took to social media to air their frustrations, shortly after Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said six cases of Covid-19 detected in Parliament last week are potential super-spreaders.

In response, PKR communications chief Fahmi Fadzil accused Dr Noor Hisham of practising double standards.

“Where was the concern of @DGHisham (Dr Noor Hisham) when dozens of people came in and out of TS Mahiaddin’s private residence (Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin) throughout last week? And many of those people also attended parliament?” the Lembah Pantai MP asked on Twitter.

“(Is this) selective concern?”

.@DGHisham perlu jawab. https://t.co/CBuqqOXx79

— Fahmi Fadzil ??? (@fahmi_fadzil) August 1, 2021

He also tweeted that opposition MPs will descend on Parliament building today.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said it is “ridiculous” for Parliament to be locked down due to only 11 Covid-19 cases out of 1,183 tests, or a positivity rate of 0.9%, which is below the World Health Organisation’s threshold of concern of 5%.

“The prime minister may be fearful of parliamentary meetings but MPs are not. For those MPs who are afraid, they need not come to Parliament, let those who do not fear but fear more for the future of the lives and livelihood of our people to attend Parliament. We shall be there tomorrow in Parliament,” Lim said on Facebook yesterday evening.

Lim pointed out that factories have been closed because positive cases were detected, but they reopen after merely two days with proper sanitisation.

He also asked why sanitisation works were not done in Parliament last Friday to allow reopening on Monday.

“Clearly the prime minister is fearful of Parliament debating the king’s public statement and that a majority of MPs will express full support for the king against the prime minister,” the Bagan MP said.

“Or he is afraid that a majority of MPs will show their loss of confidence in him following the loss of confidence in his leadership by the king.”`

Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak echoed Lim’s remark, saying that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government had dashed the hopes of all Malaysians by closing Parliament for two weeks due to a less than 1% infection rate, especially when all those in attendance have been fully vaccinated.

He said this is because the PN government was indicating that the country is not safe even after achieving 80% herd immunity.

“Therefore, there is no hope or exit for the entirety of Malaysia, because even 100% of people being fully vaccinated is not considered safe,” the Pekan MP quipped on his Facebook profile.

“Wouldn’t it be good if the PN government closed the entire country for two weeks with a total lockdown like it did with Parliament?”

Najib’s fellow Umno member and party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi noted that the mass testing in Parliament last Thursday came shortly after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong admonished the government over the announcement on ending emergency ordinances without his consent.

However, Zahid – who is Bagan Datuk MP – said parliamentarians need to return to the special sitting as there were many issues to be discussed, including the emergency ordinances.

“Since Parliament is postponed due to a risk of Covid-19 infections, we hope other localities that have the same risks of Covid-19 spread such as ‘non-essential’ factories can be delayed from operating,” Zahid said on Facebook.

“The government needs to be fair to the people. The people’s lives must also be protected.”

However, Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the special parliamentary sitting should not have even happened as no social gatherings are allowed, which should include Parliament meets.

He claimed the breach of Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) led to infections in Parliament last week.

“When it comes to the matter of health, there is only one condition, and no exemptions,”

“Regardless of the location, the SOPs have been gazetted as law,” he said in an interview with Astro Awani.

He added that Dr Noor Hisham had previously mentioned that Parliament sessions should not be held for too long, even though many MPs have been urging for an extension of the Dewan Rakyat sitting.

“We are lawmakers, but sometimes we break the law by accident too,” he added. – The Vibes, August 2, 2021

Additional reporting by Saktesh Subramaniam