President opens ‘empty’ Parliament

Apart from the rectitude of the speech of President George Maxwell Richards, the most striking feature of yesterday’s Ceremonial Opening of Parliament was the emptiness of the chamber.

There was not the usual throng of people, whether one looked at the parliamentary floor, the public gallery or the press gallery. Yesterday’s turnout particularly contrasted with that of last year, when after the uncertainty of three general elections in three years, people — politicians, dignitaries and the public — made a deliberate effort to turn out, to endorse and lend certainty to proceedings. Unlike last year there was no long queue of members of the public being screened by the police to enter the building. Neither was the parliamentary floor packed with the spouses of parliamentarians and other VIPs. And unlike last year after climbing a spacious stairway newly-built to access the press gallery, reporters had no problem finding a seat. Speculation is that the reduced attendance was due to invitees not braving the high security in the area set up for the nearby trial of Jamaat al Muslimeen leader, Yasin Abu Bakr.

The start of the initial sitting of the House of Representatives, before the joint session with the Senate, saw a contrast in the appearance of the Government and Opposition. If appearance is anything to count by, the Government presented a long flank of 12 MPs, unbroken and silent. The Opposition presented a broken line of seven MPs. At the top of the Opposition bench, Leader of the Opposition Basdeo Panday kept a tight clique of MPs — Ganga Singh, Winston Dookeran and Gerald Yetming.   At the bottom of the bench was a looser-knit clique of Gillian Lucky, Adesh Nanan, Subhas Panday and Nizam Baksh. Floating in between both cliques was the solitary figure of Dr Fuad Khan, his isolation for a moment almost suggesting a metaphor for his possible ostracism by the party for criticisms of its leader, until moments later, when he was engaged by other MPs. Members of Parliament and Senators were admonished in two “speeches,” including the prayer of former moderator of the Presbyterian Church, Rev Cyril Paul, and the later address of  President Richards.

In his prayer as representative of the Christain faith, Paul asked God’s forgiveness for the times when parliamentarians brought dishonour to the good name of Parliament through their desire to score points by saying things they knew not to be true. “Forgive us when we fail to do our research, but rely on charisma, clout, bluff or exaggeration, to save the day for us, or when we speak without thinking just for the sake of talking.” Paul asked God to bless the Prime Minister with strength, courage, compassion and sensitivity, and the Leader of the Opposition with vision, empathy and faith. He prayed that the opening of Parliament would herald calmness, rededication, recommitment and hope for our country and our people. In his speech, President Richards adopting a mixed tone, on one hand championed the cause of the differently-abled, children and community life, and on the other hand upbraided politicians to promote political statesmanship and law enforcement against lawlessness.