SIMMER DOWN

With tensions in Jamaica’s Parliament escalating this week, a government lecturer is calling for tougher sanctions against lawmakers who breach parliamentary procedures, warning that failure to act could see the House of Representatives degenerate into a “brawl”.

Damion Gordon, a lecturer in the Department of Government at The University of the West Indies, said disciplinary measures must be enforced to send a strong message that misconduct will not be tolerated, particularly in a country with violent undertones where parliamentarians should be setting a higher standard of behaviour.

“We have to think whether or not we need to introduce stricter sanctions for parliamentarians who are guilty of misconduct in the Parliament. We can think about, perhaps, suspension. We can think about financial penalties, if necessary, or other disciplinary measures, but we can’t allow this pattern of behaviour and disrespect in the Parliament to go unchecked.”

Gordon said symbolic displays of camaraderie among parliamentarians would do little to address the underlying problem, arguing that accountability and meaningful consequences were needed to discourage further misconduct.

“It is not necessary. I think that we have to move beyond, you know, symbolic gestures and ensure that the Parliament and parliamentarians are held to the highest standards, and they are held responsible and accountable for the violation of the rules of Parliament. And that requires the imposition of stricter sanctions because that is what will disincentivise future patterns of misconduct,” Gordon told The Gleaner.

“For far too long this has been happening, and now it has escalated from the verbal, you know – verbal back and forth – to an almost-physical confrontation. And when you don’t disincentivise bad behaviour, then bad behaviour will persist and that is what we see happening,” he said.

His concerns follow Tuesday’s ugly confrontation in the parliamentary chambers, which was broadcast live and subsequently circulated widely across traditional and social media.

The incident unfolded shortly after the sitting was adjourned, when Manchester North Western Member of Parliament (MP) Mikael Phillips verbally confronted House Speaker Juliet Holness. The exchange escalated into a war of words between Phillips and Western Kingston MP Desmond McKenzie, with expletives heard during the confrontation.

APOLOGY

Phillips later apologised, explaining that he reacted after McKenzie made derogatory comments about his late mother.

However, McKenzie remains adamant that he has nothing to apologise for.

Speaking at a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) press conference on Friday, he challenged Phillips to publicly repeat his allegation about what was said.

“ ... I stated exactly what I said to the member of parliament, and I’ll repeat – if he would like anyone to treat his mother in the manner in which [he was] treating the Speaker of the House – and I say no more. I challenge him to come forward and to say exactly what he said I said. I said what I’ve said publicly, and it’s for them to say what I said,” McKenzie said.

Pressed on whether he owed the public an apology, McKenzie maintained that he had done nothing wrong.

“I did absolutely nothing. If you saw the video, I stood in my seat, which was the required thing to do, the posture, because the Speaker was exiting the chamber and I was in my seat. I did not violate the Standing Orders of Parliament. I did not,” he argued. “I really have nothing to apologise for.”

Parliamentary etiquette requires members to remain seated and avoid encroaching on the central aisle while the Speaker enters or leaves the House.

McKenzie declined to comment on whether disciplinary action should follow, describing it as a parliamentary matter.

The incident has drawn widespread condemnation, including from former Jamaica Labour Party MP Clive Mullings, who described it as regrettable and urged Government Leader of Business Floyd Green and his opposition counterpart, Phillip Paulwell, to meet to address the matter.

“Over the years, the members of the House had heated exchanges but the respect remained. So much so that it carried forward after some of us returned to our private lives. More importantly, there needs to be an apology. The business of the nation and its conduct is bigger than its members,” Mullings wrote on social media site X.

University of the West Indies Professor of Culture, Gender and Society Donna Hope also criticised the conduct, expressing concern about the repeated confrontations involving the Speaker and questioning the example being set for younger generations.

“I am particularly concerned about these violent conducts and visceral attacks in response to rulings by the Speaker of House,” she said.

Hope said the spectacle was embarrassing, particularly given the visibility of elected representatives and the influence their conduct could have on public attitudes.

“As grown men and women in the Parliament, people are looking on and their conduct is under continuous scrutiny. This continued shouting match and brawl is tiresome, and it just looks bad. The 63 men and women in Parliament are very visible. Everything they do or say is carried by the media. Dancehall and reggae artistes get media attention, too, but by far, most of the country’s attention focuses on politicians. So yes, I am a little tired of the constant bickering. Can we focus on the country’s business?” Hope questioned.

Addressing the issue at the press conference, Abka Fitz-Henley, chairman of the JLP’s Communication Taskforce, also argued that parliamentarians should be cognisant of the impact of their conduct or misconduct.

But Fitz-Henley, who is also a government senator, was adamant it was the opposition members who triggered the uproar.

karen.madden@gleanerjm.com