It could not get any worse for the mother of all parliaments. Or could it? Political uproar has been caused by reports that three MPs accused of false accounting relating to MPs expenses are considering using parliamentary privilege to avoid prosecution. Parliamentary privilege protects MPs from being sued for what they say in the House of Commons.
David Cameron is reported to be "disgusted" by such a prospect. Yet he frequently uses parliamentary privilege to falsely call for the banning of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain even though the government, for all its efforts, has been unable to muster evidence to justify proscription.
Deploying parliamentary privilege would indeed be a slap in the face of the electorate who have been shocked and appalled by MPs use of expenses to claim for all sorts of things at the expense of tax payers. Revelations that these three MPs may use parliamentary privilege came days after 372 MPs were ordered to pay back £1.1 million in unjustified expense claims.
The scandal of the abuse of MPs expenses exposes the fallacy that democracy produces corruption free government. The corruption was systemic and widespread as has been recognised by the fact that well over half of all MPs have to repay over £1 millions in total.
The disgust of fellow MPs like Cameron is face saving rather than true condemnation however. Democracy makes parliament (or MPs) sovereign once the people have voted at the general election every 4-5 years. MPs make laws that not only apply on the people but laws that apply to them including setting their salaries and privileges. When parliament is sovereign who will protect the people from the abuse by MPs? MPs parliamentary privilege merely locks in this inherent democratic flaw.
Indeed, the three MPs thinking of using parliamentary privilege to avoid going to prison for fraud are not doing anything illegal - such is the harmful nature of democracy.
Contrast this with Islam’s political framework – the Khilafah. In the Khilafah sovereignty lies with Allah (The Independent and Absolute) and noone is above the law of Allah (swt), not even the Khaleefah. The Khaleefah and all his appointees are answerable to shariah law. At the same time the authority belongs to the people in electing, accounting and checking the Khaleefah. This is the ultimate in accountable government – top down and bottom up checks and balances.
The flaws in man made systems of government like democracy are inherent and systemic because man by his nature is weak, needy, subject to prejudice (intentional or unintentional), imperfect and fallible. As Muslims we need to implement the system from the Creator (The Absolute and Infallible), the Khalifah system, and not be bought by the false type of democracy. (HTB)
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