MPs can debate, quiz govt at 5-day special sitting: Takiyuddin

KOTA BARU – MPs may seek clarification and give their views during the special session of the Dewan Rakyat which will take place for five days from July 26, says Law Minister Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan.

He said the matter had been informed to all MPs through a special notice dated on Friday.

“So there is no one-sided explanation or just listening to briefings, that’s not true at all,” he said when met by reporters at the Kota Baru MP’s Service Centre here today.

He said among the matters to be discussed at the special sitting includes the emergency proclamation on January 11, 2021, and the emergency ordinances to be tabled at the lower and upper houses of Parliament.

“With regard to the method used for the discussion, such as the duration given to MPs, it is up to the speaker to decide,” he said.

When asked how the Dewan Rakyat sitting would be implemented, Takiyuddin said in principle, it would be held physically.

“However, it would depend on the standard operating procedures (SOPs), and this has yet to be decided by the Health Ministry,” he said.

However, Deputy Law Minister Datuk Shabudin Yahaya also said today that the coming Dewan Rakyat sitting will have strict Covid-19 SOPs. 

He said that apart from testing negative, MPs and their aides must also not be close contacts of people that have tested positive.

Also today, Deputy Speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon said the Dewan Rakyat committee will propose that only 80 MPs are allowed in the chamber for the special sitting that begins on July 26.

Meanwhile, Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said today that lawmakers can ask questions and participate in debates during the special sitting of the lower house.

He said the use of the word ‘explanation by the minister’ in the Parliamentary calendar was purely terminological and does not mean that ‘elected representatives will be attending the Parliament session merely to hear the government’s explanation’.

“The term explanation means the minister will provide an explanation on a certain matter and as far as I know, the Standing Orders allow MPs to intervene and ask (questions). 

“… (and) it is up to the speaker to allow time for the matter to be debated. It does not mean that one minister speaks and the others only listen,” he said in a virtual media conference after presenting food baskets around the Indera Mahkota parliamentary constituency here. – Bernama, July 18, 2021