KUALA LUMPUR – The newly registered Pejuang will be present in the Dewan Rakyat when it opens its doors for a special session starting Monday, but whether the opposition outfit’s MPs stay on for the entire five-day meet is uncertain.
In an online press conference, party chairman and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad made it clear that he believes the meeting is not a parliamentary sitting.
“The government will (only) explain what it has been doing in Parliament over four days.
“This is not a Parliament session, this is an ‘explanation’ session.”
He accused Putrajaya of holding the session merely to comply with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s demand to reconvene the House as soon as possible, slamming the Perikatan Nasional administration over its insincerity.
Pejuang MPs will attend the first meeting to gauge the situation, upon which they will decide whether to stay on.
“We have decided to attend, at least at the beginning,” said Dr Mahathir.
“If we find that it’s just an explanation of government policies, just a briefing, we may decide at that time to leave the Dewan.”
He rapped PN for flouting laws related to the emergency declared over Covid-19.
Under the law, he said, an emergency declaration must be presented in both the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara before it secures approval.
The government has done things as if there is a state of emergency. But the thing is, there is no state of emergency because it was not presented in Parliament.
“Now, we are required to approve and accept this emergency declaration as if it was approved early.”
On July 5, the Prime Minister’s Office said the Dewan Rakyat will hold a special meet from July 26 to 29, and on August 2.
It is meant to provide an explanation to lawmakers on the National Recovery Plan, and to amend the relevant legislation and regulations to allow Parliament to sit in a hybrid manner. – The Vibes, July 21, 2021
