Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr. Aiyna Ali, says she has placed emphasis on remaining neutral while presiding over the Lower House of Parliament.
The Princes Town MP, who presided over Friday’s marathon 15-hour session of Parliament, underscored that fairness is the foundation of her role.
At just 28 years of age, she’s one of the youngest Deputy Speakers in Trinidad and Tobago.
And just last Friday, Princes Town MP, Dr. Aiyna Ali faced one of the toughest tests of her political career – presiding over a heated, marathon Parliamentary sitting that pushed past 3:30am on Saturday.
Speaking on Talk City 91.1FM’s on Sunday morning, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives reflected on not just that challenging night, but maintaining ‘fairness’ in the midst of it all.
“you need to, again, always be fair, always be understanding. So, you know, while you may not always agree with someone, give them a chance to talk, you know, listen to them, hear them out, and most importantly, do your job.”
But she said fairness in that Chair isn’t optional. Despite being the MP for Princes Town, Dr. Ali said the moment she takes the Chair, she has to rise above politics.
And Dr. Ali linked fairness, not only to her Parliamentary duty, but to her own moral foundation.
“Because, you know, although I am the MP for Princes Town, when you assume that Chair, when you assume that role, you need to be impartial. You need to be fair. You need to give both sides a chance to talk because we, this is a democracy. And we could also tie in that to the teachings and values of Islam.”
As for the marathon 15-hour session of Parliament, she described the experience as a test of patience and discipline, where she was called on several times to maintain order in the Parliament.
“But this time, as you said, I was there for 15 hours, having to sit there and pay attention continuously. And it was definitely an experience. I think that taught me more patience than anything else”
Even after the 15-hour sitting, she summarized the entire experience in one line.
“But we, we did the people’s business. We did their work. We represented them”
That marathon sitting on Friday into the wee hours of Saturday morning, included three Bills being debated and passed in the Lower House – notably the Zones of Special Operations Bill, and Amendments to the Bills for Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic, and the THA Bill.