KUCHING: Virtual parliamentary sitting is a good idea in view of the Covid-19 situation in the country but to implement it immediately is not possible, said Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
The Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister explained that among the obstacles was the voting process.
“If we want to debate virtually, that is fine but when it comes to voting, it is not possible since the constitution requires MPs to be present in the sitting to vote.
“We need to have two-thirds majority to amend the constitution in order to allow the MPs to vote from outside (the Dewan Rakyat),” he told New Sarawak Tribune over the phone today.
He also mentioned that voting through proxy among MPs should not be allowed as “one does not know what the person he or she represents will actually vote.”
Article 62(5) of Federal Constitution reads, members absent from a House shall not be allowed to vote.
“During the sitting, there will be moments when there are two contradicting judgments which require the members to vote. However, voting cannot be made unless the members are inside the Dewan/House.”
The Santubong MP further said there was no provision in the Standing Orders that allowed the Dewan Rakyat sitting to be convened online.
The proceeding of the Dewan Rakyat is being conducted according to the Standing Orders, which is a piece of legislation formulated based on Article 62 of the Federal Constitution.
“Thus, to amend the Standing Orders, the process cannot be done in a day. It has to go through certain processes involving thorough discussion before the amendment can be processed by the Attorney-General’s Chambers and then tabled to the Standing Orders Committee.
“This means the amendment to allow the Dewan Rakyat sitting to be conducted virtually is not possible for the current sitting, but it may be possible for the ones in the future.”
He also mentioned that since the formulation of the written constitution in 1956, it dictated the ways for the voting method in the parliamentary sitting. “Since then, there are minor amendments but none to accommodate new technology — virtual voting process.”
Wan Junaidi pointed out that the country already had the resources and ICT authorities to adopt and implement the new telecommunicating style but in terms of law, “we cannot do so just yet unless amendment is made.”
Apart from that, he also questioned the other problems that would arise such as the attendance of MPs and the subject of allowance under The Members of Parliament (Remuneration) Act.
On Thursday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said the government was mulling the proposal to hold the Dewan Rakyat sitting virtually as a measure to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
