Our Parliament is very disciplined, and we don’t throw shoes at each other, says Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights chairman Alvick Maharaj.
He made the comment during consultation on the proposed Fiji Institute of Chartered Accountants Bill 2021 in Tavua last week in response to a query about parliamentary processes.
“Frankly speaking, Fijian Parliament compared to other Parliaments in the world, we are well-disciplined,” he said.
“Even though what you actually see, we are still disciplined.
“You don’t see somebody taking out their shoes and throwing at the other member who’s actually speaking or swearing for that matter or fighting.
“Some people have thrown fish at each other; this kind of things are happening in other Parliaments.”
He said members of Parliaments have certain privileges.
“It’s all part of democracy. In a democratic process, the parliamentarians have the privilege to say whatever they want to because they are the representatives of the people. It’s one of the places where they can actually come and say what people have actually requested them to say without any fear.
“That’s where the Parliament privilege comes in to allow parliamentarians to express themselves as they want to.”
