Malaysian Bar urges government to adopt UK hybrid system and reconvene Parliament

KUALA LUMPUR (June 16): The Malaysian Bar has joined the list of parties who have made urgent calls for the government to reconvene parliament. 

Its president AG Kalidas suggested that the government adopt the UK model by implementing “hybrid” sittings so that Parliament can reconvene despite the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“The Malaysian Bar fully supports the idea of 'hybrid' sittings which would effectively allow Parliament to be convened through partly digital (virtual) and partly physical means. This is to ensure that Parliament can perform its purposes and serve the citizens at all times,” he said. 

“The global pandemic has transformed how national governments all around the world have had to operate. Other countries, such as the UK, have transformed their legislative procedures in order that the business of Parliament can continue to be conducted, albeit through 'hybrid' sittings,” he said in a press statement today. 

“Indeed, the Westminster Parliament never stopped working, even throughout the darkest days of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK, and even though their members of Parliament were not prioritised and expedited for vaccination,” he added. 

He said the government’s decision to suspend sittings is “not in the spirit of our Constitutional principles of democracy, separation of powers, and the rule of law”. 

“The requisite checks and balances of a robust Parliamentary oversight is the very 'inoculation' that is needed to prevent any abuse,” he said. 

He said the Parliament has to reconvene immediately, as there are major issues to be dealt with. 

“There is a myriad of issues that need to be debated and discussed, including ways to handle the pandemic, protect livelihoods and revive the economy. These matters must be looked into immediately, and the voice of Malaysian democracy must be heard,” he said. 

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