DEWAN RAKYAT
The Dewan Rakyat (Malay for 'House of Representatives'; lit. 'People's Assembly') is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament, the federal legislature of Malaysia. The chamber and its powers are established by Article 44 of the Constitution of Malaysia. The Dewan Rakyat sits in the Houses of Parliament in Kuala Lumpur, along with the Dewan Negara, the upper house.
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The Dewan Rakyat is a directly elected body consisting of 222 members known as Members of Parliament (MPs). Members are elected by first-past-the-post voting with one member from each federal constituency. Members hold their seats until the Dewan Rakyat is dissolved, the term of which is constitutionally limited to five years after an election. The number of seats each state or territory is entitled to is fixed by Article 46 of the Constitution.
While the concurrence of both chambers of Parliament is normally necessary for legislation to be enacted, the Dewan Rakyat holds significantly more power in practice; the Dewan Negara very rarely rejects bills that have been passed by the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Rakyat can bypass the Dewan Negara if it refuses to pass a specific law twice, with at least one year in between. The Cabinet is solely responsible to the Dewan Rakyat, and the prime minister only has to maintain the support of the lower house.
Topic A:
Regulating online businesses in relation to COVID-19
Due to the pandemic, the Malaysian government has continuously encouraged local businesses to transition online. However, the drastic surge in online businesses within the short period of time leaves no room for proper regulation to be made. Citizens are unable to differentiate between legitimate businesses and online scams. An example on the importance of proper regulation is the recent uproar regarding the FINAS Act 1981, which restricts Malaysians from uploading videos on social media. This proves that social media is still an uncharted territory, many of whom don’t know how to control. Delegates in this council will discuss to answer the question: Should the government intervene in online business activity? Or is regular review enough to ensure the safety and privacy of our citizens?
Topic B:
Efforts to provide a safe and effective learning environment in public schools during COVID-19
The pandemic has highly impacted the education industry in Malaysia, especially for public schools that lack the funds to equip themselves with sufficient tools and technologies useful to monitor the spread of diseases. Furthermore, students from low-income backgrounds face the additional challenge of settling the weekly cost of face masks, along with catching up with school from months of digital learning. Delegates in the Dewan Rakyat will need to introduce innovative solutions that allows schools to be a safe and healthy environment, whilst also coming up with effective online learning methods to prepare for future application.