KUCHING: Parliament must reconvene soon in order to avoid a constitutional crisis as well as to allow parliamentarians to debate on the best solutions in addressing the current Covid-19 crisis.
Political analyst Dick Lembang Dugun said the recent proclamation by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong calling for Parliament to reconvene as soon as possible should be accepted and followed through by the government.
“No excuses to wait until September or October as the government had planned to reconvene Parliament,” he said, stressing that democracy must function and not be doomed due to excuses.
He said Parliament should be categorised as a very important ‘essential services’ sector and reconvene as soon as possible and before the end of the Emergency period.
He pointed out that the economy, education system and health system were not in good circumstances.
“We have increasing numbers of new cases and the number of deaths is also increasing. This indicates the failure of the government’s strategies in combating this pandemic,” he said when contacted by New Sarawak Tribune.
As such, Dugun said the government must be accountable for this and any actions done in handling the Covid-19 crisis.
“The rakyat are suffering – all segments of the rakyat such as the B40, M40, businesses, workers, and so on. All are affected.
“That is why Parliament must reconvene as soon as possible to ensure that all the parliamentarians can debate on the best solution to bring our country back, especially in terms of economic aspects,” he said.
He also said that the people wanted to know how the government was handling the pandemic, particularly concerning costs.
“We, the rakyat, want to know how billions have been spent by the government in handling the Covid-19 pandemic. The government must be transparent on this,” he said.
He emphasised that the three branches of government – the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary – must be functioning in addressing the Covid-19 crisis.
“Hopefully, this Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has the political will to reconvene Parliament from now on to give way for all parliamentarians to debate on solutions to combat the pandemic.
“Be a responsible, transparent and accountable government in combating this pandemic,” urged Dugun.
