Adjournment for lack of quorum highlight at Dewan Rakyat this week

KUALA LUMPUR: A lack of quorum that forced the Dewan Rakyat to be temporarily adjourned on Tuesday was the highlight on the second week of the first meeting of the first session of the 14th Parliament.

When the House convened at 2.30pm on Tuesday after the mid- day break, Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi (PBB-Kapit) pointed out the lack of quorum and Speaker Datuk Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof ordered a two-minute adjournment for the quorum to be met.

Standing Orders 13(1) states that the quorum of the House and of a Committee of the whole House shall consist of 26 members excluding the Chair.

The adjournment of the House was only for a short while, but it invited all kinds of reaction – including from some people who even proposed a deduction of the monthly allowances of MPs who do not attend Dewan Rakyat sittings.

The government was also advised to expedite the election of a backbencher leader to ensure the attendance of MPs so as to avoid repeated adjournments due to a lack of quorum.

A day earlier, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had voiced dissatisfaction over the poor attendance of ministers and deputy ministers in the House.

This week’s meeting, chaired by Mohamad Ariff and the two deputy speakers, Nga Kor Ming and Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon, went smoothly although there were the usual arguments between the MPs.

The oral questions were mainly on current issues and the direction of the new Pakatan Harapan government, including the government proposal to review the New Economic Policy and the New Economic Model.

The debate on the motion of thanks for the royal address became a platform for the MPs, mainly from the opposition, to raise various questions directed at the government, among them on the promises made in the election manifesto.

Khairy Jamaluddin ( BNRembau) was one of the MPs who spoke this week. He said the Pakatan Harapan pledge to implement a payment deferral for the National Higher Education Fund Corporation ( PTPTN) borrowers earning less than RM4,000 a month may not come true.

Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak also participated in the debate, claiming that the national economy was strong during his administration and questioned the present government’s pledge to abolish the debts of Felda settlers within 100 days of forming the federal government.

Government officials following the proceedings of the House shared the Parliament lobby with reporters looking for an opportunity to record the comments of ministers and MPs on various issues.

The reporters were particularly interested in speaking to Dr Mahathir, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali for information on the economic situation and national policies.

The House sits again on Monday. — Bernama