‘Opposition being difficult, so why extend special Parliament meet?

KUALA LUMPUR – Even if last Thursday’s special parliamentary sitting had gone beyond a day, the incompetence from the opposition and their insistence on prioritising their political agendas, would not have made it any more productive, said Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman.

Tajuddin, who initially responded with an “okay” when asked how he felt about the sitting, later insisted it was effective despite its short time span.

“One day is enough if everybody spends time productively. As far as the government’s side is concerned, I think we were productive; the opposition side, I think, was not being productive.

“Most of the time, they spent it just whacking (the government) and satisfying themselves; they are not sincere, not speaking up sincerely for the people. What is the point of having the sitting for a longer time if most of it is being used by the opposition to whack the government to satisfy their egos?” he told The Vibes.

Tajuddin said he deemed it a success because relevant ministers, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, did well to explain the efforts of the government, and those of individual ministries, concerning flood management.

The Umno man did admit that every administration has its weaknesses, but said it was unreasonable for the opposition to harp only on these drawbacks, instead suggesting they focus their efforts and provide constructive input without any “hidden agendas”.

They are not constructive, the opposition. They are so hopeless. It is embarrassing because they are trying to find fault on the part of the government. Of course, there are certain weaknesses. No management is perfect.

“But they are blowing the issues out of proportion; as the Malay proverb says about the prawn behind a rock (ada udang di sebalik batu), so for them there is always a political prawn behind the rock,” he added.

His Umno colleague Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim agreed the sitting was productive, concurring there was no need to extend the session considering how Parliament will sit again at the end of February.

The Baling MP asserted how Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had shown his focus on solving the flooding issues on a short- and long-term basis as the head of the government, and last Thursday’s session did well to inform all lawmakers concerning the government’s efforts.

“Yes, one day is good enough. Yesterday (Thursday) there were about 80 to 100 of us and everybody was given an opportunity to speak, so to me, if you ask me, I am happy. Now it is about the implementation.

“Unless Parliament is not going to sit for six months then maybe it is okay to extend (the sitting). But next month we are going to sit already, we have almost a month there, if there is anything we can still do the checks and balances,” he told The Vibes.

No solutions, no foresight

For opposition MPs, Thursday’s session was far from productive, most agreeing it was inefficient with little to no resolutions or solutions outlined by the government on flood management.

DAP’s Gobind Singh Deo told The Vibes how there was no clarity from the government concerning its efforts and plans, adding how Ismail Sabri should have been the one winding up Thursday’s sitting.

Gobind said the only successful takeaway from the sitting was that MPs whose constituencies were affected by floods could vent their views to the government.

When people look at the end result, there are still questions that have not been answered and concerns that are still lingering in our minds. That is the duty of the government to try and resolve or try and provide solutions, and that didn’t come across.

“That didn’t happen because the person who ought to have taken the floor to provide these solutions did not do that,” he said, referring to Ismail Sabri.

The Puchong MP did commend several federal ministers for taking candid questions from the floor but lamented the government's failure to explain proposed formulas.

“But, if you look at the answers from these ministers alone, I do not think that is sufficient. We want to know from the prime minister what his government collectively would do in moving ahead and dealing with the problems caused by the floods, and of course, problems that we may expect with floods recurring in the future,” he told The Vibes.

Sitting was ‘anticlimactic’

PKR’s Fahmi Fadzil and Wong Chen were consistent in their views to The Vibes that the sitting was anticlimactic, with the Lembah Pantai MP calling it a wasted opportunity.

Fahmi asserted the government’s response to queries from MPs showed their lack of commitment to identify solutions to problem areas, and how they were in denial over the gravity of casualties and damages caused by the floods.

“Some were interested in blaming the victims or other state governments instead of truly looking at where they catastrophically failed. The scale of this disaster – nearly 150,000 metric tonnes of waste, including items damaged by the floods, were collected in Selangor alone – this warrants a week-long session at the very least.

“If (costs of) repairs for infrastructures are estimated at more than RM1 billion, surely we should not be done with this matter in one day,” he said when contacted.

Wong stressed how the government should have had the foresight to engage with the opposition before the sitting, prepared with legislative agendas and resolutions that could have been made during the sitting.

“It would have been much more productive if an amendment or even an emergency flood budget was passed in Parliament yesterday. If you come to Parliament to brief MPs without a proper legislative agenda, then you can expect the outcome of such a sitting to be a non-productive shouting match,” he said.

Amanah vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar told The Vibes that the sitting was used as a tool by the government to defend its incompetence, especially after being on the receiving end of heavy criticism.

He agreed with Fahmi that the sitting only further exposed the government’s weaknesses in handling emergencies, and its interest in diverting the attention towards petty topics.

Mahfuz said this was evident in government MPs harping on Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad’s actions in terms of flood relief efforts instead of addressing the issue at hand.

The truth is (the) Shah Alam (issue) was there from day one, while Ismail Sabri was cutting a cake at an Umno division event, and they saw it as a success when the media picked up on the government’s claims about Khalid.

“For the government, what is important is having issues such as Shah Alam being brought to the fore, but I believe in this modern world, the people can see and evaluate the truth for themselves,” he said.

Mahfuz noted how the sitting was a waste of resources, with the value of allowances and subsidies given to MPs from outside the capital to attend a mere one-day session did not produce a return of investment on the money spent.

“It was not efficient because the sitting did not produce any solutions; what was resolved yesterday (Thursday)? Nothing. All while spending the government’s money,” he added.

The next Parliament sitting, the Fifth Sitting of the 14th Parliament term, is set to run for 16 days from February 28 to March 24. – The Vibes, January 25, 2022