Attendance timetable for MPs to be drawn up

A SCHEDULE for MPs to be inside the Dewan Rakyat to ensure no repeat of Tuesday’s halt to proceedings due to a lack of quorum will be drawn up, promised Pakatan Harapan ministers.

The halt came on the second day in the second week of the new Parliament, with pictures emerging on social media of empty seats in the hall.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong said he would be notifying the Chief Whips of each party in Pakatan of the incident.

Many lawmakers, he said, had to attend meetings outside Parliament after 2.30pm that day, including himself who had one with the Bar Council.

“When the bell was rung for the second time at 2.36pm, we already had enough quorum. According to the Hansard, they were only late by between four and six minutes,” he said.

“We will submit the names to the Chief Whips to ensure there will be a proper schedule for the MPs to be inside the Dewan Rakyat.”

News of the halt was widely shared on social media with many people voicing their dismay over the attendance while others were willing to accept that some MPs could have been very busy with other responsibilities, including their jobs in the ministries.

Under Standing Orders 13, there must be at least 26 MPs in the 222seat Dewan to allow proceedings to be held.

On Monday, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had himself expressed dissatisfaction over the attendance of his Cabinet members and their deputies.

Asked if there would be a motion from him to slash the allowances of MPs who failed to attend sittings – a suggestion agreed to by Agriculture and Agrobased Industry Minister Salahuddin Ayub – Liew said he would only raise the matter in the Cabinet meeting.

“This is because some of the MPs are still new and they do not understand the importance when the bell is rung twice,” he said, adding he would wait for the next course of action from Dr Mahathir.

Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad said ensuring quo rum was the responsibility of both Pakatan and the Opposition.

“If there was not enough quorum, it means that the Opposition also did not have enough members (in the Dewan at that time).

“This is a cheap shot. But if they want cheap publicity for this, we will ensure the quorum will be maintained by the Government’s side,” he said.

Khalid said he had been receiving an official visit from the Perak Mentri Besar in Putrajaya at that time.

“I was made to understand that there were not many MPs present as the backbenchers were meeting at 1.30pm (in Parliament) and this finished slightly after 2.30pm,” he said.

Hitting out at the media for “unfairly” highlighting the halt, RSN Rayer (PHJelutong) claimed that the coverage did not reflect reality.

“As a backbencher, I am offended. We were all in the House but the perception of the reports was that the MPs had left Parliament after lunch. This is not fair,” he said, adding he had calls from his constituents asking if he had actually attended the sitting on Tuesday.

However, Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Mohamed Said (BNKuala Krau) pointed out that Rayer was not in the House at that time and that Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof had made the right call to halt the proceedings.

“YB Jelutong was not in the House and at 2.30pm, the bell was rung, signalling the start of the Dewan but there wasn’t enough quorum.

“That is why the Speaker temporarily halted the proceedings according to the Standing Orders,” he said.

In a statement, MCA Youth secretarygeneral Datuk Leong Kim Soon said despite Pakatan’s repeated claims for an excellent Parliament, their ministers and deputies had disregarded the sitting.

“This has not only defiled the sanctity of Parliament but is a total neglect of the duties entrusted to them as ministers and deputies,” he said, adding they should prioritise sittings.

Leong also urged the Speaker to issue a warning letter to all the MPs involved asking for reasons for their absence and to move a motion to have their allowances cut.