KUALA LUMPUR – After its adjournment on December 20, the Dewan Rakyat sits again this Thursday (January 20) to debate the recent floods, described as among Malaysia’s worst disasters in living memory.
The special one-day parliamentary sitting will debate the devastation brought by the floods, as well as post-flood efforts, coordination of aid to the public, and long-term mitigation measures.
All eyes will be on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration as it is slated to be given space to explain its plans and actions in handling the catastrophe and undertake preventative steps for the future.
The floods have claimed the lives of more than 50 individuals so far and affected over 100,000 people across several states, with costs arising from the resulting damage reportedly having hit the RM20 billion mark.
Lawmakers from both sides of the political divide are envisaged to table a number of queries on the calamity, which laid bare a high level of incompetence in the federal government and the various relevant state administrations.
Malaysians can expect to tune in to heated debates and arguments, with questions predicted to be fired at ministers and deputy ministers by vocal MPs such as Khalid Samad (Shah Alam), Charles Santiago (Klang), Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan (Pontian), Mohamad Sabu (Kota Raja), R. S. N. Rayer (Jelutong), and Fahmi Fadzil (Lembah Pantai).
While a one-day parliamentary proceeding is not unusual, opposition MPs will certainly not pass the opportunity to make requests for Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun to extend the brief session for a few more days.
Previously, Ipoh Barat MP M. Kula Segaran had criticised the hurried session as a “joke and will fail to yield significant results”. He called for the lower house to sit for at least three or four days.
Will there be room to deliberate on MACC fiasco?
It is also foreseen that the MPs will raise issues pertaining to the controversy surrounding embattled Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Tan Sri Azam Baki to be deliberated in the august house.
While the matter was rejected for discussion by Azhar last December, it has now become a larger issue, with mounting calls from several lawmakers and various quarters for a full investigation – even for a royal commission of inquiry – and for him to be removed from his position.
Azam, however, has maintained his innocence, saying the millions of ringgit worth of shares purchased were done by his brother using his trading account.
For the record, it is an offence for a public servant to purchase shares amounting to more than RM100,000. Existing law also stipulates that it is wrong for anyone to buy shares under a different person’s name.
On December 14, Sg Buloh MP Sivarasa Rasiah filed an urgent motion seeking the Dewan Rakyat to discuss Azam’s alleged ownership of publicly traded stocks, but it was not entertained.
Meanwhile, on January 6, a special motion looking to debate Azam’s issue and the related allegations was filed by Pulai MP Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, with several other lawmakers also expressing their misgivings against the troubled chief of the anti-graft body.
Dewan Negara President Tan Sri Rais Yatim has also spoken about the need for the MACC debacle to be debated in Parliament.
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) for Agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department will convene on January 19 in Parliament to discuss the recent imbroglio surrounding the chief commissioner, a day before the Dewan Rakyat has its special meeting.
Committee member and Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin was reported by Malay Mail as saying that the committee had summoned Azam to attend the hearing.
Seeing that it would reflect on Ismail Sabri’s ability in leading the country should he succeed in properly addressing these pertinent issues, will he exercise his right as prime minister and chairman of the proceedings to extend the one-day meeting? – The Vibes, January 17, 2022
