Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud (Amanah-Kota Raja) said this at a joint media conference with Sim Tze Tzin (PKR-Bayan Baru) and Kasthuri Patto (DAP-Batu Kawan) refering to Hanipa Maidin (Amanah-Sepang), who was rushed to the hospital yesterday after being found slumped in his seat while the Dewan Rakyat was in session.
According to Siti Mariah, she was informed by Hanipa’s wife that the lawmaker had been spending many hours going through the thick Company’s Bill draft, which was the topic of debate in the House since early this week.
“As an MP, we don’t have much time to go through all the Bill drafts as we have only limited time. We need to really understand the provisions in the Bills so that we will be able to debate on them properly.
“YB Sepang is no longer in critical condition now. However, working like this, apart from doing his own party’s work, was probably the cause of the pressure and his sickness.
“So I hope the House will convene at humane hours. Other countries don’t extend (debate hours) to the point we have to stop the clock,” she said.
Earlier this morning, a motion on the matter was filed by Sim where he urged Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia to limit the House session from 10am to 5.30pm and to extend the Dewan Rakyat session from 53 days to 100 days.
He said failure to do so would not only affect the MPs, but also journalists, government workers and Parliament staff who also had to stay in the House until the session of the day ended.
“The government wants to rush through all the laws by extending the House session until night time. This puts pressure on us and jeopardises our health.
“In 2010, we convened for 80 days, in 2015 it was for 61 days, but now it’s only 53 days,” said Sim.
Sharing his sentiments was Kasthuri. She said MPs needed time for preparation to deliver quality debates.
“Our salary comes from the taxpayers’ money and so we need to ensure that our debate has quality,” she said.
Yesterday at 5.30pm, Hanipa began to lose consciousness after complaining of feeling nauseous and giddy shortly before the recess. He was then rushed to hospital.
Hanipa successfully underwent surgery to treat a brain haemorrhage at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital and is warded at the Intensive Care Unit now.