KUALA LUMPUR – Budget 2022 tabled by Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz on Friday will be debated by MPs at the Dewan Rakyat beginning today.
The debate session is scheduled to be commenced by opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim after the Oral Question and Answer session and, as per convention, the second debater will be from the government backbenchers club.
Based on the parliamentary sitting calendar, Budget 2022 is scheduled to be discussed at the policy level for seven days, and will be wound up by ministers or deputy ministers of the relevant ministries for four days before being discussed at the committee level for 13 days.
Apart from that, the focus of today’s sitting will also be on the issue of whether high wage rates in Australia and South Korea are the reason many Malaysians are willing to work illegally in the two countries.
Datuk Shabudin Yahaya (Tasek Gelugor-Bersatu) will pose the question during the Oral Question and Answer session, and he will also ask the human resources minister to state the actions being taken to prevent more Malaysians falling into forced labour in those countries.
Questions related to Covid-19 vaccinations will also be entertained at the sitting, as Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof (Alor Gajah-Bersatu) will ask the health minister to state in detail the safety measures being taken to ensure certain inoculations are suitable for recipients.
He also wishes to know the form of compensation received by vaccine recipients if there are side effects after being vaccinated.
Nurul Izzah Anwar (Permatang Pauh-PH), meanwhile, will ask the health minister to state the ministry’s efforts to regulate all human papilloma virus (HPV) DNA programmes, which are now partly run by the National Population and Family Development Board.
She will also seek the ministry’s commitment to ensure that all students aged 13 and 14 who missed the HPV vaccination are given the vaccine in the near future.
Issues related to Sabah and Sarawak will also be in focus when Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem (Serian-GPS) asks about efforts to increase clean water and electricity supply in rural Sarawak, while Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin (Kinabatangan-BN) will raise a question on the encroachment of illegal immigrants in Sabah waters.
This Dewan Rakyat session runs for 32 days until December 16. – Bernama, November 1, 2021
