The Malaysia Parlimen (they really do spell it without the 't'))

June 27th, 5:50pm

Today we had the privilege of attending a session of Parliament which was a very interesting experience (and we had the VIP seats!). The Malaysian parliamentary system is the same as the UK’s in structure, but certainly not in practice. To give you a general idea of the political situation here: 199 seats are held by the UMNO-led “coalition” (called the BN) and only 19 seats are held by the opposition. Basically, UMNO (United Malays’ National Organisation) controls everything. Capital cronyism is huge here – basically, if you want to make money for yourself or your ethic group you join the BN and toe the party line.

Our seats were located behind the small opposition section which made the whole thing quite lively. Despite being such a small group of people, the opposition MPs do make a lot of noise! They aren’t listened to very often, but they continue to struggle against the government and raise issues that BN MPs cannot. Due to our VIP status, we were able to get simultaneous English translation through headsets (the proceedings are in Malay).

Today was the traditional question and answer session between the MPs and the various Ministers. When we arrived, we got the Order Paper which listed all the questions being asked. Although there are 71 questions listed, only about a dozen get answered and debated on the floor. Some questions were really interesting including one about the trafficking of women and another about the dangers of trans fatty acids in foods and the necessity of labeling for the public. However this question was definitely the most amusing (keep in mind that Islam is the official religion of Malaysia):

“MP Datuk Hasni to ask the Minister of Youth and Sports to state the Government’s stand regarding the presence of sexy models in the Super GT grand prix held annually in Malaysia.”

When this question came up, I literally had to focus on not laughing out loud. The man concerned about the models believed that the practice of using sexy models was exploitative and against the Muslim values of Malaysia. However, other MPs felt as though allowing such sights encouraged Western involvement and events and presented the world with a tolerant and moderate image of Malaysia. The deputy minister was adamant that they “weren’t wearing swimming suits” and instead were garbed in “hot pants” which is not as bad. Then another MP stood up and said that not all men wanted to see half-naked women which prompted another man to say “well, maybe men in X Region!” or something like that. Lots of insight into the mind of Malaysian men!

To better understand the work of the opposition, we met with Teresa Kok, a Chinese Malaysian MP from the DAP (Democratic Action Party). She told us some incredible stories about the inter-workings of the Malaysian legislature. One incident really illustrated the difficulties facing women MPs, particularly those in opposition parties.

The Parliament building was recently renovated costing taxpayers about 10 million ringgit. However, the workmanship was very shoddy (although you couldn’t really tell unless someone pointed it out to you. Lots of beautiful fountains and woodwork. Underneath is painted plywood and crappy roofing, according to Teresa). To make a long story short, due to the government handouts and affirmative action policies favoring Malays, most contract work is bad. Most of the contract money goes into pockets rather than into the hands of contract workers (which have to be 90% Malay or something) so only about 30% of the money allocated actually went into the renovation.

Anyway, the youngest MP, a woman from DAP, stood up in Parliament to protest the leaking roofs and point out that millions of ringgit had been put into the pockets of BN MPs and their rich constituents rather than into the renovation. Some BN MPs then stood up to say “Why do you care? You leak every month!”

Well, this horrifically sexist remark led to opposition parties organizing protests on Mother’s Day (a few days later) because the sexist MPs refused to apologize. The Women’s Ministry was hounded for days until finally the men issued a broad apology to “all women.” I’m happy to say that I met this woman who dared to raise the corruption question and fight against sexism. She and Teresa are so amazing. I hope I can put their stories and perspectives into my SRP.

Tonight we are going to have dinner with some of Prof Heng’s friends/colleagues so I’ve got to run!

PS. I’ll write more about the coursework tomorrow, Uncle Dan! One can only do so much!