A new discussion has started in Malaysia on the issue of absenteeism of MPs, initiated by a young woman on her series of Instagram posts. She has launched a rare parliamentary petition, which aims to hold MPs who are absent from Parliament accountable. To formally submit this petition, 500 signatures and an MP who will raise the issue in Parliament are required.
The young woman raised the issue on social media and called on the general public to participate. Then, standing at a specific location, she started collecting signatures directly. Her initiative quickly attracted people’s attention.
Aim of the Petition
The main aim of this petition is to ensure the responsible behavior of MPs. Dissatisfaction among the public is growing due to the fact that many MPs are not regularly present in Parliament. Therefore, this initiative is bringing that problem to the fore.
In the video the young woman said that this is a rare parliamentary process, which has been used only once before. As a result, the issue is new to many. However, she believes that citizen participation is very important in a democracy. Therefore, everyone is being urged to get involved.
Signature Collection
Participants have to provide some specific information to collect signatures. This includes full name, IC number, address and signature as per the national identity card. In the first phase, she collected signatures standing in front of a historical place in Kuala Lumpur. Many people came there from morning to afternoon to participate.
In addition, she is encouraging others to collect signatures by providing an online template. This is expanding the initiative further. Many see it as a collective citizen initiative.
Increased Turnout
On the first day, many more people participated than expected. Initially, she thought that maybe 100 to 250 people would come. But in reality, people of different ages, religions and professions showed up. People signed from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm.
But in her 4th episode of the video, she said that a total of 425 signatures were collected. As a result, about 85 percent of the target was achieved on the first day. The organizer himself was surprised by this success.
Next Plans
This initiative is not stopping here. The organizer said that she will continue collecting signatures until May 15. The second phase of the signature activity will be held at the Perdana Botanical Garden. She also raised the target to 1,000 signatures. According to her, this will send a strong message to MPs. At the same time, he is also planning to find an MP in the future who will raise the petition in Parliament. As a result, this initiative is now starting to take shape as a large citizen movement.
Watch the video here:
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