COMMENT | When I was in Universiti Malaya in the early 1990s, all arts and social science undergraduates had to enrol for a course on the Malaysian Constitution. It was one of the best things the university could have done to educate me about democracy.

The course taught me that the check and balance system is at the heart of a healthy parliamentary democracy. The three branches of government – the executive, legislature and judiciary – are like the three legs of a stool. Remove or weaken one leg, and with enough stress, the stool will collapse.

Unfortunately, we can’t make it mandatory for our politicians to pass a course on Parliament and democracy. At the same time, there have been unnecessary distractions from recent personality-driven headlines around our Parliament.

Instead of being distracted, let’s remember what Parliament is for. And then we can judge whether politicians are acting to support or...