KUALA LUMPUR – PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang (Marang-PN) is among the only 22 ordinary parliamentarians who did not participate in the debate on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s opening address in the Dewan Rakyat.
A check on the parliamentary Hansard and the list of debaters found that he is one of five Perikatan Nasional (PN) lawmakers and the sole leader of a political party not to take part.
The four other PN MPs are Hassan Saad (Baling), Shahrizukirnain Abd Kadir (Setiu), Che Alias Hamid (Kemaman) and Datuk Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (Bukit Gantang).
Yesterday was the last day of the debate on the king’s speech, which offers ordinary MPs an opportunity to share their views on the Agong’s remarks, as well as address the House pertaining to core issues concerning their constituencies and the general public.
It is customary for party leaders to debate on the royal address, with the speaker of the House typically granting them a longer period to deliver their speeches as compared to other lawmakers.
The respective ministers are expected to deliver their winding-up speeches and respond to the concerns raised by MPs in yesterday’s and today’s sittings.
Hadi has been notorious for his poor attendance in Parliament. He was previously reported to have only attended 21 of the 71 Dewan Rakyat sessions last year, the lowest among all MPs.
The Hansard also showed that he has already missed two days of the current sitting, specifically last Wednesday and Thursday.
The Vibes is unable to independently verify if he was present in the House yesterday as the latest Hansard was yet to be published as of the time of writing.
Previously, during the general election campaigning period in November, the PAS president had defended his action of skipping Parliament by justifying that he wanted to enable younger MPs to participate in debates.
The seven-term Marang MP also said that his absence would not affect his chances in the polls and that going to Parliament “is not like going to school”.
Other prominent lawmakers who did not participate in the royal address debate this year include MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan (Tapah-BN) and DAP deputy chairman Gobind Singh Deo (Damansara-PH).
In total, PH has the most number of ordinary MPs who did not take part in the debate with 12.
Besides Gobind, the others are Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (Bandar Tun Razak), Yeo Bee Yin (Puchong), Datuk R. Ramanan (Sg Buloh), S. Kesavan (Sg Siput), Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham (Beruas), Fong Kui Lun (Bukit Bintang), Teresa Kok (Seputeh), Tan Kok Wai (Cheras), Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun (Port Dickson), Pang Hok Liong (Labis), and Mordi Anak Bimol (Mas Gading).
The remaining lawmakers who skipped the debate were Datuk Suhaimi Nasir (Libaran-BN), Datuk Henry Sum Agong (Lawas-GPS), Lo Su Fui (Tawau-GRS), and Datuk Wetrom Bahanda (Kota Marudu-KDM).
When contacted, Deputy Dewan Rakyat Speaker Alice Lau (Lanang-PH) confirmed that the names of these MPs were not submitted for participation.
“Normally, we will get the list of speakers from the opposition and government benches. Whoever spoke in the past couple of weeks were the ones who had their names submitted to the speaker.”
For the record, 149 lawmakers participated in this year’s debate on the royal address.
A total of 49 other MPs, who are either ministers or deputy ministers, did not take part due to their executive positions. Lau and fellow deputy speaker Datuk Ramli Mohd Nor (Cameron Highlands-BN) similarly sat out. – The Vibes, February 22, 2023
