KUALA LUMPUR – Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has filed a motion to the Dewan Rakyat to allow for an urgent debate on the country’s dire economic situation once the lower House reconvenes on Monday.
In a notice submitted to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun this morning, Anwar specifically sought to discuss the soaring prices of basic goods and the ringgit’s recent crash, which he argued have gravely affected the rakyat.
The motion was filed in line with Standing Order 18, which allows any member of the House to seek to discuss any matter of urgent public importance, provided the speaker is satisfied that the matter is definite, urgent, and of public importance.
Anwar said the issue at hand is a defined matter related to goods prices and the value of the ringgit, which has had huge repercussions, particularly on the food supply chain and public services.
“This (economic) crisis is taking place post-Covid-19 pandemic and is surely to have an impact on the rakyat, who have already been affected by the health crisis for two years,” he said in the notice, which was shared on his social media accounts.
The Port Dickson MP also argued that the issue is of public importance seeing that inflation and ringgit devaluation concern every level of the community.
Additionally, he said his motion is also urgent as the issue has had both short- and long-term effects on the public.
The filing of the motion today comes just three days after Anwar penned a letter to Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob urging the prime minister to table an urgent motion to debate on the country’s economic woes.
He had suggested that the matter be debated in the first week of the upcoming Dewan Rakyat sitting, which will commence on Monday.
“I propose that either the government tables this special motion, or the prime minister, as the head of the House, gives me the space to table it as the opposition leader,” he had said.
The Dewan Rakyat sitting, which was originally scheduled to take place from October 25 to December 15, has been moved forward and will now commence for 32 days beginning Monday.
The tabling of Budget 2023, originally set for October 28, has also been rescheduled to October 7.
There have been speculations that Parliament might be dissolved in the immediate days following the budget tabling to make way for the 15th general election. – The Vibes, September 30, 2022
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