Attending Parliament is an MP’s duty, not just to “keep one’s seat”

Concerning DAP National Organising Secretary Anthony Loke’s reminder to all MPs, particularly those from DAP and Pakatan Harapan, to attend the Parliament sitting on May 18th to avoid losing their seats, I would like to pose a question: Shouldn’t Loke be actually reminding his people that attending Parliament is their duty, or is he grudgingly conceding the fact that many PH MPs remain unrepentant and planning to continue miss Parliament?

The people elect MPs to be a voice in Parliament. If the main driving force behind an MP is the fear of losing his seat, rather than his sense of obligation to provide rightful representation of his people, then he is no more than a pretender.

It is a shame that some MPs had to be reminded to attend Parliament like a child because they are on the verge of losing their seats due to prolonged absence. This really paints a picture on the quality of PH parliamentarians and their sincerity to serve.

However, I believe with Loke’s parental reminder, alongside Lim Kit Siang’s repeated calls for an emergency Parliament sitting, attendance of PH MPs will no doubt attain a record high since GE14. Many of them more worried about losing their seats than voicing up for the people.

In the 22 months when PH was in power of Putrajaya, many PH MPs including their ministers were absent en masse on numerous occasions and Parliament proceedings often had to be delayed as a result. Some PH MPs still had the gall to use the temperature of the air conditioner, faulting the opposition for being loud or attributing their absence to fatigue as excuses.

Clearly after winning GE14, many PH MPs began to take the people’s mandate for granted.

In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, from Lim Kit Siang and Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s incessant insistence for an emergency sitting to Loke’s unbecoming reminder, it is evident that in the eyes of PH politicians, their political ambition and personal interests always come ahead of the people they promised to serve.

Dr Tee Ching Seng
MCA International Communication & Diplomacy Bureau Chairperson

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