KUALA LUMPUR – Several measures, including restricting the number of MPs present and limiting the time period for each day’s session, may be imposed during the ongoing special parliamentary sitting following an outbreak of Covid-19 in the House.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun said the matter is being discussed with Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, and a decision will be announced in due time.
He said 12 parliamentary staff and two MPs tested positive for the virus over the weekend, with more than 60 others forced to undergo quarantine.
In his opening address today, Azhar said the House committee initially agreed to allow full attendance for the sitting, before the Covid-19 test results for a number of individuals returned positive.
“After the results came back, I immediately called a meeting to seek the opinion of the health director-general on how we can convene the sitting.
“The decision to be made will finalise whether to limit the number of attendees, and the time limit of the sitting. We are still waiting for approval.”
For now, the meeting will be conducted according to the status quo, but he urged party leaders and chief whips to ensure rotation among members of the floor every hour.
“Dr Noor Hisham is extremely worried about the outbreak in Parliament.”
On Saturday, it was reported that Umno president and Bagan Datuk MP Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Deputy Higher Education Minister and Nibong Tebal MP Datuk Mansor Othman tested positive for the coronavirus.
Azhar said at least five other MPs are forced to observe quarantine after being listed as close contacts.
To ensure safety in the House, he said, lawmakers are encouraged to wear two masks in view of the highly infectious Delta variant of Covid-19. – The Vibes, July 26, 2021
