MPs – buck up or be replaced

2026-03-07 - 00:23

I have long realised it is too much to ask for our parliamentarians to be intelligent. Or competent. Our political system gives us a fixed set meal menu of whom to vote for in our general elections. The parliamentary candidates are selected by political parties not based on merit but on other criteria. Often, it is the head of the political party who has total say on who is selected. The main criterion is whether you are chummy with him and would support him to maintain his hold on the party. Your academic qualifications, work experience, intelligence or integrity matter diddly squat. Of course there are a few exceptions from all political parties – those MPs who comment intelligently and criticise fairly and fearlessly, even on issues championed by their own party. Most often, on issues affecting the welfare of the people such as an unfair law, we appreciate such MPs’ non-partisan views. MPs such as Hassan Karim, Rafizi Ramli, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Wong Chen, come easily to mind. Every five years, 222 people are elected to be members of our Dewan Rakyat. We wonder how many of these chummy politicians are political chumps and how many are actually capable of performing the duties of a member of parliament. Perhaps they do not understand, there is only one principal duty that is significant – that of making law. Under our Federal Constitution, legislative authority is vested in Parliament which consists of the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The lawmaking process begins at the Dewan Rakyat which comprises these 222 MPs. The way things are, our chummy lawmakers do not even need to draft the bills; the civil servants do that. All they have to do is study and scrutinise the bills but they hardly do that. It has been observed that the Dewan Rakyat generally passes bills without any substantial amendments. In fact, an academician has said that “80% or so of the bills are passed without a comma or full stop being altered”. Aside from that one important duty of lawmaking, our MPs do not seem to do much else. In fact, apart from the few events of cutting ribbons, it is rare to spot hair or hide of our MPs once they are elected. Ask yourself, do you have your MP’s email address or handphone number? Do you know where their offices are situated? Do they readily want to be contactable? How do you tell them you want them to vote for a law you deem important? It is hugely disappointing when they cannot even perform that single duty of lawmaking. This was shown when they did not even bother to show up to vote for the passing of the bill to amend the Federal Constitution to limit the prime minister’s tenure to two terms. The bill was put to a vote on March 2, 2026 and it failed to garner the 148 votes needed for it to pass into law. It fell short by two votes to make the two-thirds majority needed for constitutional change. Imagine that, only 148 out of 222 MPs needed to pass a monumental law and they failed us. The long-awaited bill would have been a historic reform to ensure that no prime minister overstays his welcome. We are so wary of how absolute power takes deep root in caked political soil that cannot be ploughed. The bill would also ensure a healthy turnover and succession of the nation’s leader. Nobody with a modicum of intelligence would question the merit of such a reform. It should have been welcomed with open arms by all parliamentarians. Yet 44 MPs abstained and 32 were absent. Astonishingly, among those absent were eight MPs from the government bench! Those 44 who abstained played the partisanship game and failed to do what was right for the people instead. One MP who was chastised for his absence said he did not agree with the law proposed in the bill and wanted Anwar Ibrahim to continue being PM forever. I have long ceased to expect much from our MPs, realising how they are chosen to be on the limited choice menu thrust upon us, but I expect them to at least show up to vote for a constitutional amendment that is very important for the future of Malaysia. Just one day of their time. Is that too much to ask? May I remind our MPs of their oath of office; that “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully discharge my duties as such to the best of my ability, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Malaysia and will preserve, protect and defend its constitution”. Not showing up to vote for an important law amending the constitution is a dereliction of duty. So is abstaining to vote based solely on the party whip and not according to good conscience. We all know that our MPs are handsomely remunerated with high salaries, hefty allowances and a life-long pension, all paid for by the rakyat. Many feel that we are not getting the bang for our buck. Perhaps it is time we considered a change that is sweeping the world. We should increase the use of AI technology. We should replace our MPs with robots. With AI (not Anwar Ibrahim) driving them, we might get a high grade of MPs – those with immense knowledge, deep capability to do research, incorruptible morality, indefatigable attention to detail and boundless energy. They would certainly provide better debate in parliament with interesting and well-informed questions for the ministers. They would observe decorum although their language would be less colourful. They would not go to hospital nor attend prayer meetings nor get stuck in traffic on a crucial day of voting in parliament. And they would cost little more than a vacuum cleaner. The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.