We cannot think of a better example of how out of touch the parliament -- both government and opposition -- has become from the concerns of the public. It is a sad day when we have to raise the issue of whether the MPs even understand that their primary function is to serve the nation and not themselves.

Of course, we agree that MPs need some special privileges, both to allow them to effectively perform their duties without undue harassment and inconvenience, and as a mark of respect for their status as representatives of the people. But the proposed legislation to enhance their privileges raises some troublesome questions.

First, lawmakers have a history of abusing the privileges that they already have been given, such as not paying telephone bills, even though they had drawn allowances to pay. Surely, there should be some hesitation in seeking new rights until steps are taken to rein in the abuse of existing ones.

Second, the main issue touched on by the proposed legislation is protection from law. It strikes us that this problem can easily be solved at an administrative level. If the government agrees -- as it seems to -- that the opposition MPs need to be treated better by law enforcement and jail authorities, then it is perfectly capable of handing down such directives to the relevant officials. There seems to be little need to pass a law to effect the needed reform.

Finally, surely the fact that the parliament is so dysfunctional should give its members pause before voting themselves new privileges. Parliamentarians fail to form quorum, almost never sit as a full house, squabble with one another, boycott sessions, play games with rules of procedure, and essentially neither do the bidding of the people nor act in a manner consistent with their mandate as elected representatives -- and then they have the effrontery to ask for greater reward!