Saying no to ‘ponteng’: Malaysian activist starts petition against absenteeism in Parliament

KUALA LUMPUR - For activist Roshinee Mookaiah, the last straw came on March 2.

A constitutional amendment to cap the prime minister’s tenure to 10 years was expected to be passed that day, given that the Anwar Ibrahim government enjoys a two-thirds majority in Parliament.

However, the bid fell short of the 148 votes required by just two “ayes”, and the absence of 32 MPs, including eight government backbenchers, was seen as a key factor.

Parliamentary absenteeism has long been a bugbear for Malaysians, but this time, Ms Roshinee, 32, decided enough is enough and is pursuing a little-known avenue to force MPs to improve their attendance: a parliamentary petition.

She has the help of a few friends, and needs to collect 500 signatures from Malaysians and find an MP willing to sponsor the petition’s tabling in Parliament.

“I don’t have any funding. We spent a few hundred ringgit of our own money to make placards and print out stickers and the sheets to collect the signatures,” she said after braving both the sun and rain on April 18 in front of Merdeka Square in the centre of Kuala Lumpur.

At present, if Malaysian MPs are absent for a period of six months, Parliament can, but is not required to, declare their seats vacant.

The petition calls for stricter guidelines – reducing the permissible time span for absenteeism, citing examples like Singapore and Australia where seats must be vacated if the MP is truant for two months – and disciplinary action including cutting salaries and allowances for not attending parliamentary sittings.

Despite promoting her petition – dubbed “Dilarang Ponteng Parlimen”, meaning no skipping Parliament – only on her social media accounts, Ms Roshinee and her friends secured 425 signatures in the seven hours they were stationed beside the historic Sultan Abdul Samad Building in front of Merdeka Square on April 18.

A parliamentary petition has been used only once previously, in 2020, when the All Women’s Action Society, a non-profit organisation, pushed for much-delayed anti-sexual harassment laws to be passed. 

Although the Attorney-General’s Chambers found that some of the 500 signatories were invalid, then Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto was allowed to read out the petition in December 2020. More than two decades after it was first mooted, the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act was finally gazetted in 2022.

Ms Roshinee, an international development consultant by vocation and political content creator by passion, plans to stage another collection of signatures on April 26 and hopes to cross the 500 mark then – she has set a new target to gather 1,000 backers.

She said almost all the signatures she collected on April 19 were from people who had specifically come to sign the petition, most of whom were young Malaysians. Many had travelled for up to an hour simply to sign it; some handed over pages of signatures they had collected from friends and family.

“They signed because they agreed we shouldn’t let our MPs ponteng,” said Ms Nicole Gan, 26, who travelled from Sungai Buloh to deliver 15 signatures, including those of her friends.

“But some, like my friends’ parents, were quite sceptical, asking, ‘Who is Roshinee? What makes you think you can trust her and that she won’t abuse your personal info?”’

Mr Syawal Azhar, who was selling ice cream on a motorbike, approached Ms Roshinee’s group out of curiosity and was convinced to put his name down.

“We voted for the MPs and we pay taxes (that fund) their salaries, allowances and benefits. If I were to miss work for a week, I would be sacked,” said the 38-year-old, who works as a telecommunications technician during the week.

According to a parliamentary dashboard at independent website MyParliament, several senior politicians are among those with the worst attendance records.

Opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia president Hadi Awang tops the list, attending just 69 out of the 248 sessions since the 15th Parliament was sworn in at the end of 2022.

Next up are Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi (76) and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (82). A dozen MPs have managed perfect attendance.

Beyond targeting MPs’ absenteeism, the campaign behind the petition has also cast a light on how anachronistic Malaysia’s democratic practices can be, as well as the public’s desire to be involved in the political process beyond voting.

As it stands, petitioners and signatories can come from across Malaysia, but signatures must be collected in person. Mailing the forms is an option, but most citizens are reluctant to provide their home addresses for political action due to safety concerns.

“People are already consuming most of their information online and are asking me why this (petition) isn’t online. I’m glad they’re asking that. Citizens want to participate, but they are not accommodated,” Ms Roshinee said, adding that such petitions can be lodged online in Britain.

“The purpose is simply to get MPs to go to work. Isn’t it ridiculous that we are going through all these loopholes to do something so basic?” she added.

Given the effort taken by most of her signatories, she feels “it would be such a loss” if it ends with just this petition. She has prepared an interest form – with a QR code, of course, not pen and paper – for further engagement, such as workshops on “how else we can engage with the political process”.

Marine mammal conservationist Chok Jai Xuan, 24, who travelled from Puchong, about 45 minutes away, to sign the petition, said: “I feel that finally there’s a channel to feel empowered and it’s better than doing nothing. Even before this petition, I’ve messaged her (Roshinee) a few times to ask how I can be more politically involved.”