What ought we expect from an MP in Parliament?

ARCHIVES 2009

By admin-s On Jun 15, 2009

Deputy Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (right) has stirred up a hornet’s nest by criticising Sarawak MPs for being less than vocal in the parliament. That riled up his parliamentary colleagues from Sarawak, who called his words “sweeping statements”. The Batang Sadong MP Nancy Shukri was particularly unhappy.

By Sim Kwang Yang (Hornbill Unleashed)

Some credibility has to be given to Wan Junaidi because he is the Deputy Speaker who helps the Speaker in chairing the house proceedings. He would know.

I served in the Dewan Rakyat for three terms as MP of Bandar Kuching from 1982 to 1995. With some exceptions, including Wan Junaidi, Sarawak MPs were indeed a meek quiet lot. That trend has probably not change since then.

There are many reasons for this.

The Parliament Chamber is a very intimidating place. It is a huge high hall with freezing temperatures. Under its very tall roof, is gathered the most powerful politicians in the land. Some new MPs are so intimidated that when they make their maiden speech, their voice trembles. Their knee probably shakes too.

I too was intimidated by the whole ambience of power and tradition. I overcame my bad feelings by thinking that the crowd in the Dewan Rakyat was just another ceramah crowd, and that I was the best among all the MPs. It worked, until one day, after leading a walk out in his face, Ong Tee Kiat – then serving as Deputy Speaker – complained to the reporters in private about my “arrogance”.

As a new MP, I was also taught by my senior the late P. Patto(left) to feel like a samseng when you are in the house. There are many established samsengs, especially those from UMNO, who would howl down opposition MPs. You had to nurture the tenacity of a samseng not to be cowed.

Actually, even until to-day, I think Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh must remain the two most tenacious samseng in the Dewan Rakyat.

In a Borneo Post story entitled Deputy Speaker’s comments incur wrath of BN MPs (June 14 2009), Nancy Shukri pointed out the difference between Sabah and Sarawak MPs. She said, ““We don’t shout. You don’t expect us to speak like the Sabahan MPs; that is their nature. We did not speak in an aggressive manner because we have our own way. What is the difference between speaking in an aggressive manner and speaking in a normal manner? We still get heard and we still get extra funding.”

That puzzles me. The political field is a massive dog-eat-dog jungle, and that includes the Dewan Rakyat. If you are meek and nice, why bother to get involved in politics and get elected as an MP at all? The Sabahan MPs have done the right thing. Sarawak is as under-developed as Sabah, and so Sarawakians ought to be aggressive as well, especially when BN power in KL now depends on support from the two eastern states!

Should Sarawak and Sabah MPs from both the BN and the opposition NOT fight like lions and tigers for the rights of their respective states when Sabahans and Sarawakians have suffered federal neglect for 46 years after independence?

Then I realise that Nancy Shukri(left) is a green horn MP, having been elected over a year ago. She has been polluted by the BN toxin on what and how an MP should speak up. Let me knock on the thick door of her closed mind.

She said in the BP interview, “Like me, I come from rural area and I asked for fund for our drain, electricity, water, hospital, medical and many more. We have to speak because we are still backward. We need to speak for the people. But now people will say we don’t speak for them.”

If she thinks that she speaks up only for the people of her constituency, then she is grossly misinformed about the function of the Parliament.

The Parliament is the highest political forum of the land. It is the highest political institution in Malaysia representing all Malaysians in a collective deliberation on national problems facing our whole country.

On taking his or her oath of office, a newly elected MP swears allegiance to the Agong as the supreme head of Malaysia, and to uphold the constitution of the Malaysian Federation. Does he or she swear allegiance to the voters of his or her constituency?

In short, every MP must take upon himself to seek active participation to speak on every major issue that comes before the house, not only just issue about his or her own constituency. He serves the entire nation of Malaysia.

The trouble with the type of thinking like Nancy Shukri is that her mind is not ready for parliamentary duty.

Every day, a long list of bills is presented before the house. Most MPs, especially the first term Mp like Nancy, would not have the faintest clue as to what those bills are all about. The annual budget document is a particularly vicious killer. I have seen MPs from both sides who have served for many terms and still remained clueless on how to use the budget documents. You have to learn a little about the principles and procedure of public administration and public finance.

Once, a new bill about the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Act 1994 was tabled in the house during my watch. Most MPs were clueless, so I was assigned to debate on it. I did my research at the Lincoln Centre at the US Embassy in KL, and all the materials were all there.

During the debate, I spoke at length, and even UMNO MPs showed me the thumb. My research paid off. The speaker Tun Zahir was impressed, and gave me first chance to speak from then on.

Thence forth, I spoke out for higher penalties for rapists, the Sarawak indigenous people’s problems with logging and the Bakun Dam, and on the codification of Dayak adat in Sarawak.

The press did not publicise my speeches, because the reporters were also clueless, not only about the bills and the issues, but also about the role of the Parliament. I don’t think journalism has improved much since then about their coverage of parliament proceedings.

I tell these stories now not for self-glorification, to show you how great I was as an MP. I am retired from public life, and I do not need glorification, self inflicted or otherwise. I am trying to open the minds of current MPs like Nancy Shukri and Malaysian voters who may think about politics like her.