DEBATE ALLOWED DURING SPECIAL PARLIAMENT SITTING STARTING JULY 26
KOTA BARU: All members of parliament will be allowed to debate and put forward questions during the upcoming five-day special parliamentary sitting starting July 26.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said the Dewan Rakyat speaker would have the final say on these matters during the session.
The speaker, he said, would also determine issues such as the duration of de- bates allocated to each MP.
“What I would like to stress is that basically, each MP will need to get permission from the speaker first for him or her to be allowed to debate or table a question during the session.
“It is the speaker who will grant the permission to MPs for debates and tabling of questions based on the recommendation by the prime minister.
“The speaker will allow MPs to debate as long as the issue does not violate the procedures of the debates,” he said.
Takiyuddin was speaking after presenting donations under the Pakej Perlindungan Rakyat dan Pemulihan Ekonomi (Pemulih) food aid programme at his parliamentary service centre here yesterday.
Takiyuddin said there would be three agendas during the special sitting.
The first agenda, he said, was in relation to the tabling of the proclamation of Emergency and the Emergency Ordinance that was announced on Jan 11 this year.
“The second agenda is the tabling of the Emergency proclamation in relation to the by-elections held in the Gerik parliamentary constituency (in Perak) and Bugaya state constituency in Sabah.
“The third agenda will be explanations given by ministers in relation to the Covid-19 situation and the Emergency.”
Takiyuddin said these matters proved that the government was transparent, and that all MPs could take part in the debate in the line with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s call for Parliament to reconvene.
On June 29, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah made his second call for Parliament to convene as soon as possible.
In Johor Baru, Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon said the Dewan Rakyat Select Committee would propose that attendance for the special sitting be limited to 80 MPs.
This, he said, would be discussed among the party whips. He said the matter was likely to be decided next week before the Dewan Rakyat sits on July 26.
“This proposal is the same as the resolution adopted at last year’s sitting. Just like last year,
out of 222 MPs, only 80 could enter.
“Each minister and deputy minister will also be restricted to only one or two staff members. Strict standard operating procedures, including Covid-19 screening, will also be imposed.
“We are ready to sit for five days for the lower house and three days for the upper house. So all questions related to Covid-19 will be tabled using the rules of explanation by the relevant minister.
“Whatever we can’t debate, we
will provide space for questions to be asked.
“There is only one proposal, whether to make (Parliament proceedings) hybrid or non-hybrid, that is not on the agenda at the time as we can conduct the proceedings as usual,” he said after visiting the Mobile Vaccine Programme at the Sri Stulang Multipurpose Hall here yesterday.
With regard to the 80 MPs, Rashid said there would be 44 government lawmakers and 36 from the opposition.