KUALA LUMPUR: The government should not use the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse for Parliament to delay its sitting after it convenes for one day on May 18.
Former Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (Mestecc) Minister Yeo Bee Yin said there are many options for Parliament to adopt in terms of technology, if the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government wishes to do so.
Yeo said there are many platforms which can be used to host an online Parliament sitting without the need for Members of Parliament to come face-to-face with one another, for fear of being infected.
"This is the first Parliament session led by the PN government since the change of government in March. It will have no question and answer sessions, no motion, no debate, and no vote.
"More so, PN has been putting off any Parliament session or parliamentary committee meetings by giving the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse," she said in a statement this evening.
"If (prime minister) Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the PN government are confident of the majority support and not afraid to face the check-and-balance by Opposition MPs, why won't they use the many technological solutions available to allow Parliament to operate meaningfully – virtually, physically or a mix of both. A Standing Order can be amended to allow this, if needed," said Yeo.
Yeo, who is also Bakri MP, questioned why Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Khairy Jamaluddin, despite having spoken on technology for contact tracing, testing facilities and patient care, is not promoting the use of technology for the Parliament sitting.
"Why has he been extraordinarily silent on advocating the use of technology to proceed with the Parliament sitting?" she asked.
Yeo said there is a host of ready-made solutions to choose from, such as Zoom, Google and others.
"Parliament in many countries have started to operate virtually (fully or partially) not only in developed countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, France, New Zealand and Luxembourg, but also in developing countries like Poland, Maldives, Brazil, Angola and many others.
"With the current and available technologies, there are 1,001 ways to allow Parliament to continue to function as a check-and-balance mechanism for the executive branch of power during the Covid 19 pandemic" she said.
Yeo said this sitting is crucial for the people.
"Any given government would have the good sense and responsibility to the people to convene and debate what the next course of action is with the interest of the people at heart.
"Are we not, first and foremost, the people's representatives to voice their utmost concerns, and Parliament is where we convene?"
"With Covid-19 predicted to be around until a vaccine is found, probably in 12 to 18 months, does that mean the PN government will continue to use Covid-19 as an excuse to avoid proving their majority in the Parliament thus long?"