Allowing Our MPs To Vote With Conscience
Both the Barisan Nasional (BN), that is the governing coalition and Pakatan Rakyat (PR), the opposition coalition had indeed made history for themselves. BN with its reduced majority under a minority government status (based on its lesser percentage of votes received nationwide) and PR with its dramatic increased representation in the parliament which had never happened in the past.
What are expected here are bill, laws and issues that are to be tabled or forwarded to the parliament would see an intense debate. To get the bill and laws through, it is by simple majority, but again, it is certain that the oppositions would not let it through that easy. On the other side, the BN members of parliament (MPs) and its government ministers would not be feeling the comfort that they have been enjoying decades ago.
The parliamentary subject here is, can the MPs from both sides of the political divide vote with conscience, instead of just toeing by the party or coalition's line respectively? In getting this question answered, we must also ask if these MPs who were elected by the people should serve the interest of the party first or the people who had elected them into office. Will there be a particular "conflict of interests" if an MP were to follow the aspirations and demands of the people under his or her constituency or otherwise?
Voting with conscience means that any MP would vote for or against any bills, laws or issues in the parliament based on his or her sound and reasonable judgement or the popularity or unpopularity of any such bills, laws or issues amongst the people in the constituency that he or she was elected to represent. This means, if the people of the particular constituency are against of certain bills, laws or issues, the MPs who are elected for the said constituency must also follow suit to bring the people's plight to the parliament and vote against the said subject matter.
Our MPs are elected by our people after every four to five years grace period via a general elections or state elections and these MPs should also be given their rights to vote with conscience based on a simple democratic point of view. Why should all these MPs always be bound by the party or coalition rules of which he or she is the member of?
After the recent general elections (GE13), many people are also calling for the reform on the parliamentary system and the way it has been managed. Politically and democratically, these elected MPs should also be given the opportunity to think out of the box instead of traditionally following only by the party or coalition's interests respectively.
In developed nations in particular, legislators and MPs of the ruling party are usually allowed to vote for or against any policies, bills, laws or issues which they think fit or worth for the people or after getting all those necessary feedbacks from the people. So does the legislators and MPs from the opposition bench, where they are also allowed to vote in favour with the ruling party's policies, bills or laws or any other issues which they deem fit or favourable to the people and the nation.
In these nations, not only the parliamentary system are modernised, but the policies and outlook of both the ruling party and the opposition bench towards their legislators too are being positive and matured based on the facts that it was the people who had elected them to office and therefore the people's aspiration and demands should be prioritised.
Today, more and more people in our nation are beginning to understand what politics is about and wanted to know more about the politics, policies and the various current affairs which are being outlined or reported everyday. Our people are also getting more politically aware and informed, wanting to know more, wanting to opine, criticise, scrutinise and to comment. Our people are more participative and wanted to be part of the nation building as well.
In other words, these people are now matured, politically and so does their awareness on their basic rights, what do they expect from these politicians, political parties and so on. Therefore, the both sides of the political divide ought to realize that the people's mindset has changed and modernised too, had since become ever demanding in wanting their aspirations for our nation met.
Allowing our MPs from both sides of the political divide to vote with conscience would also allow our MPs to be more participating the the parliamentary debates, discussions, exchanging of ideas, getting the facts, providing and accepting criticisms, scrutinies with open mind, conducting research and studies on related subjects of interest, rather than the "For and Against Voting" only culture from the ruling party and the opposition bench respectively. Such practice is now outdated and should be discontinued in the interest of our people and the nation.
