ALL eyes will be on Parliament today as people put politicians under the microscope to see if there is more of politics or pandemics in the august house as Malaysia battles Covid-19 like never before.
Will both sides of the aisle of Parliament put people before political parties? Today, and the days that follow the current session of Parliament, will show them up as either showboating ruckus rousers or respectful rakyat advocates.
The pandemic has changed many things, but would it change the way parliamentary business is conducted? If the world is an example, there is sparse hope. Look at how politics is done in the United States and England.
In America, the Republicans and the Democrats debate and vote with only the party in mind, not the people. Take the fight against Covid-19 itself.
The outcome is often a national divide. The business of Parliament in England isn't very different from the US, though there are more than two political parties there.
Again, take the battle of England against Covid-19. When the pandemic hit England in early March, the rest of Europe was shutting down.
The Conservative Party-led government in London decided to take the libertarian route by remaining open. Later, on medical advice, it went into a lockdown. It will go into a second lockdown on Thursday, again on medical experts' advice.
Malaysian politicians and their parties are no different. They often play the party hand, not what the people need. Debates in Parliament are sometimes less than august. Rarely do we see members of parliament from either side of the aisle putting their heads together to take the nation forward.
It is as if the two — the ruling party and opposition — speak in different tongues. Of late, the bickering has grown loud and it is all about who should occupy the prime minister's seat, not on how to beat the pandemic.
The MPs must remember that the business of politics is neither about power nor pound of flesh. If politicians are of this type, then we have voted the wrong ones in.
And the people are entitled to be angry. It is in this context that Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah's decree calling on politicians of all stripes to work together to fight Covid-19 must be read.
We are glad the palace intervened in this worst of times. Striking the right balance between life and livelihood isn't an easy one. Governments everywhere are struggling to get this agonising balance right. Politicians must help, not hinder in arriving at the right balance.
The country needs MPs who have the pandemic in mind, always. Anything else is noise. Lives must be protected. And so must commerce.
There will be some give-and-take on either side of the spectrum. MPs with the people's interest in mind will know where the give or take is. Neither should be dictated by party politics. This is an agonising moment for Malaysians, and it may be similarly agonising for the nation's politics.
Who knows, we may be at the cusp of new politics, one that places people before parties.
Malaysians may not be able to see the new politics in full display all of today, but on Nov 6, when the 2021 Budget is tabled, the nation will surely come to know.