COMMENT | High time for a virtual Dewan Rakyat

COMMENT | On Monday, we received the unfortunate news that Senator Ras Adiba Radzi’s special aide had tested positive for Covid-19. This health scare resulted in Parliament having to shorten its proceedings to 1pm from Monday to Thursday (Nov 2 to 5).

These recent events highlight the weaknesses of conducting physical parliamentary proceedings in times of a pandemic: (a) the health of all MPs, senators, their aides and parliamentary staff are put at risk; and (b) precious parliamentary time is wasted through postponements.

This reignites a pressing question: why did the authorities not convene a virtual/online Parliament instead?

Some parties have claimed that the Standing Orders of Parliament are a legal obstacle towards a virtual Parliament from taking place. No doubt, there is some grain of truth to this. The Standing orders were conceived at a time when the Internet had not been invented yet.

There are two ways to overcome this.

Option A: Parliament can amend the Standing Orders accordingly to cater for virtual hearings. Pursuant to Standing Order 78, the House can refer such a motion to the Standing Orders Committee. The Standing Orders Committee will then produce a report and the House can vote to approve the amendments accordingly.

This process could have taken place earlier this year (or even during the July sittings) and be completed in time for the November sittings. It is still not too late for Parliament to initiate this for the upcoming sittings, and the digital future.

Option B is much quicker and straightforward ...