SINGAPORE: In a crisis, Members of Parliament (MPs) will be able to “meet” across two or more places appointed by the President under a new article in the Constitution that was passed on Tuesday (May 5).
The new Article 64A will create a mechanism for Parliament to meet under continuity arrangements, said Leader of the House Grace Fu during the second reading of the proposed law. The Constitution formerly mandated that Parliament met in one place.
AdvertisementAdvertisement“This physical separation will enhance the survivability of Parliament as an institution,” said Ms Fu, who is also the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth.
“In the context of the COVID-19 situation, separating members into cohorts, and limiting the physical contact between these cohorts, allows us to cut down the chance of infection spreading to all the MPs,” she said.
[h=3]READ: MCI, IMDA working with telcos to boost network capacity buffer and ensure reliable Internet connection: Iswaran[/h]This means that if one cohort is infected, other cohorts can still carry on, she added.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe details of the continuity arrangements, such as which members will be allocated to which meeting place and how they will communicate, can be decided by the House or by Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin.
The mechanism is active for six months once the Bill is enacted and comes into force.
In the future, it can be activated by Parliament for six months at a time if members consider that it is impossible or unsafe for Parliament to meet in one place.
Parliament can also resolve to deactivate the mechanism and resume normal sittings at any time, said Ms Fu.
[h=3]READ: COVID-19: Parliament could meet from multiple locations under proposed law[/h]She added that other options were considered, including remote participation which is being tested by the UK’s House of Commons, but it did not seem necessary to go that far.
“Singapore is a small country, and members should be able to travel to alternative sites for Parliament. We also wanted members to be physically and fully present to apply our minds together to the important business of the Parliament, even if we co-locate between several places,” she said.
On Monday and Tuesday, as the House met at the midpoint of a “circuit breaker” period in Singapore, MPs attended Parliament wearing face masks and with safe distancing measures in place. They took the masks off to speak, to ensure they could be heard clearly.
[h=3]READ: COVID-19 elections Bill passed to enable Singaporeans on stay-home notices to vote[/h]This was as far as they could go under the law today, said Ms Fu, but the COVID-19 outbreak and other future exigencies could make it unsafe or impossible for Parliament to meet in one place even as it has to carry out its constitutional functions.
“In the constitutional framework, we are an essential service,” she said.
Ms Fu said there is no immediate need to activate the mechanism as the number of new coronavirus cases in the community and unlinked cases has decreased recently, suggesting that the circuit breaker measures have been effective.
However, the Bill was introduced and passed in two days under a certificate of urgency “out of an abundance of caution” so that it can be triggered if necessary.
“If the need arises, for instance, if there is widespread local transmission of COVID-19, we can immediately implement the necessary arrangements,” said Ms Fu.
The constitutional amendment was passed with 84 members voting in favour, and no objections or abstentions. Constitution amendments can only be passed with a two-thirds majority in the House.
[h=3]BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments[/h]Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
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