SEBERANG PRAI – The Penang government will organise an engagement session in lieu of the state assembly sitting, which has been put on hold due to the state of emergency.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the meeting will be held at a hotel in George Town on March 29 and 30.
“All elected representatives have been invited to participate, with each exco given an hour to debate.
“No speaker will conduct the engagement session, so it will be handled by the secretariat, which will be the council’s chairman,” he told a press conference today.
The session will not see motions tabled, nor laws drafted or amended.
“This is a normal engagement session, like a state assembly sitting, but informal.”
In January, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah proclaimed a nationwide emergency until August 1 to curb the spread of Covid-19.
This led to the postponement of sittings in Parliament and state assemblies.
Meanwhile, Penang opposition rep Dr Afif Bahardin told The Vibes that he is mulling a boycott of the engagement session to protest against the state government’s decision to withdraw his assemblyman’s allocation.
“I am considering not attending because my allocation as an opposition representative has been withdrawn.”
He said he received a letter on the matter, involving a RM60,000 infrastructure allocation, on February 19.
It is understood that three other reps – Bertam’s Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq, Zolkifly Md Lazim (Teluk Bahang) and Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sg Acheh) – have also had their allocations pulled.
Khaliq and Zolkifly are Bersatu men, while PKR has suspended Zulkifli’s membership and sacked Dr Afif.
The Vibes was unable to get comments from state opposition leader Datuk Muhamad Yusoff Mohd Noor on the matter. – The Vibes, March 26, 2021
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