COMMENT | We all agree that the parliamentary session today, May 18, serves no purpose. There will not be a no-confidence motion to test the government’s claim that it has the confidence of the majority; it is nothing but a mockery of transparency and accountability.

But when the Parliament sits for the first time in nearly six months, it will symbolise a shift in the country’s morality. For the first time in history, the sitting government is one that is not chosen by the people. An illegitimate government will be legitimised through the parliamentary process.

Although this is the highest legitimisation process, this is not the only one. State governments of Johor, Malacca, Perak, and Kedah have since switched hands through a reorganisation of interest, rather than an election. Words have started to catch our ears that even a stable state like Selangor is at risk of changing hands because politicians do not respect the people’s will.

A little more than 10 years ago, the defections that caused the collapse of the Perak government were considered a constitutional crisis. Two Pakatan Rakyat assemblypersons decided to quit and pledge support to a rival coalition, bringing the Barisan Nasional government back into power. The legitimacy of the new government and the menteri besar was called into question...