The passing of the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 on Nov 29 typifies the fundamental flaw of our system of parliamentary democracy, where the narrow interests of political parties have usurped the sovereignty of the Malaysian Rakyat.
The fact that MPs cannot vote according to their own consciences and hence not directly accountable to the people whom they represent, betrays the anti-democratic nature of the Party Whip System.
The death of Malaysian democracy did not happen overnight. Many historical events and episodes, too many to recount here (Ops Lalang, the 88′ Judiciary Crisis, the Perak state coup etc.), have contributed to this sorry state of affairs.
But the Passing of the PA Bill 2011, is surely the last straw and the final indication that there is no more democratic life left in the system. Enough is enough. The illusion that parliamentary democracy in Malaysia is alive and well must be finally exorcised and shown up to be a sham as so dramatically demonstrated on Nov 29.
We mourn the sad passing of the Malaysian Parliament. It’s time for all ordinary Malaysian citizens to build a new democratic culture, one that allows anyone and everyone to participate, and all to be heard.
We are currently witnessing the Occupy Parliament movement spreading to different parts of Malaysia and we encourage and urge people to reclaim our public spaces, foster democratic and egalitarian platforms for Malaysians to voice their views and to find new ways to address the common problems in our society.
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