St Mary’s Cathedral PPC members visit the Parliament

Nov 09, 2018

By Dalius LL
Five members of St Mary’s Cathedral Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) visited Parliament in Kuala Lumpur on October 17. The PPC was led by their Vice Chairman who were joined by another five members from the Sandakan Inter-Church members to make up a Sandakan Christian delegation to the Malaysian Parliament. All were first-time visitors to Parliament.

The study tour was made possible by the invitation of the Law Minister, YB Datuk VK Liew and the kind sponsorship from Dato Seri Joshua Chong, a corporate figure from Kuala Lumpur. The objective of the tour was mainly educational to gain first-hand experience of the Federal law-making process.

The group was hosted by officials from Batu Sapi Parliamentary seat. There were briefings and a guided tour of the galleries in the parliament building. The most profound experience was the opportunity to sit in the two different sections of the public gallery inside the Dewan Rakyat. We could see the chamber where the Members of Parliament (MPs) have their debates and discussions. On that particular visit, we witnessed the debate on the Sales and Service Tax (SST) issue. The debate was hot, but, friendly. The proceedings were very enlightening and we did not realise that it was way past our allotted time and we were asked to vacate our seats due to the many visitors that day.

During the Study Tour, we managed to meet a few lawmakers from Sandakan and even managed to shake hands with Datuk Anwar Ibrahim. Our intention was to pay a courtesy call on the Law Minister in his office in the Parliament building was not successful. Nevertheless, Datuk Liew was kind enough to include us for a dinner function that evening. This was an opportunity to discuss and exchange our views on the issue of abolishing the death penalty in Malaysia. At the same time, our Christian leaders brought up their Church’s needs to his attention.

Michael Lai our PPC Vice Chairman shared that we were fortunate to have been able to witness the proceedings in Parliament. Likewise, the fellowship that we, from the different denominations had, has brought us closer.”

Rev Khoo Keng Shiang from the Baptist Church was impressed by the openness of the Malaysian Parliament which is accessible for the public to visit. The study trip has given him some knowledge on how the process of Law is made in Malaysia. He hopes that in the near future a similar tour can be organised for other Church leaders.