11/17/2006

Call for Unconventional NMPs in Parliament

Call for Unconventional NMPs in Parliament I am still yawning and musing over the excitement that this call will bring. And as usual, there is no lack of support and enthusiasm from all quarters. We need a more colourful Parliament to hear voices from all corners of the population. It sounds like a good idea. Now I have heard of suggestions that the disabled needs to be represented, preferably by a disabled person, a blind or mobility impaired person will be ideal. The athletes too need to be represented. A string of footballers' names came to my mind. And the grey population must be represented. Oh oh, are we going to reverse the trend and bring the old hags into Parliament again? But my creative juices are running, and I would like more unconventional NMPs to come from the people they represent. We need one 18 year old to represent the young, a bak kut teh hawker to represent the foodcourt. A meesiam seller will do if can't find the other. Taxi drivers need to be represented, and bus drivers too. What about the housewives? They missed out during the last progress package. And the beggars in the street corners surely need to be represented. There is a beggarchief in YPAP forum that could fit the role. And the buskers. Now for a little change. Parliament needs to be renovated. Maybe even relocated to the National Stadium. But some more urgent things would be to make Parliament friendly to the handicaps. Braille sets must be available, passages for wheelchairs. And yes, the beautiful metal studs that lined MRT stations must be fitted in Parliament. We can invite Gus Dur to try them first. We will then have a great Parliament that truly represents the people from all walks of life. Or create a Senate and they be all addressed as Senators. Is there any merit to such a call? Is Parliament missing something that such a call will come at this time? Why did all these different groups feel that they need to be represented by their own kind? Ok I am now fully awake. Nice musing, but hopefully Parliament is not transformed into a circus or HDB void deck.

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