The meeting to be held two days after the 62nd anniversary of Parliament is set to focus on issues relating to the country’s recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the aid packages to provide relief to the people.
The meeting, which is expected to run for 17 days, takes place amid the lowering of the political temperature with the formation of a new government led by the Umno vice-president. It will also see the election of a new Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker to replace Azalina Othman Said who resigned from the post last month.
So far, two names have been mentioned as nominees, namely Pontian MP Ahmad Maslan, who is the candidate from the government bloc and Teluk Intan MP Nga Kor Ming who is Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) choice.
If there are two nominees, the assembly session will be on Tuesday, a day after its opening, and this will see the 220 MPs voting to elect the new deputy speaker.
Meanwhile, Dewan Rakyat’s other deputy speaker, Mohd Rashid Hasnon, has confirmed that the process of selecting the new deputy speaker to replace Azalina has been included in the Order Paper on Tuesday.
“If more than one candidate is nominated, then the matter would be put to a vote.
“Lawmakers were given 14 days to submit their candidates’ names prior to the voting date,” he told Bernama.
In addition, the focus has also been on the possibility of a motion related to the legitimacy of the prime minister being brought at this session.
However, law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar had earlier said that there was no need to cast a vote on a motion of confidence on the prime minister at the Dewan Rakyat sitting to determine the validity of his appointment.
He said the relevant provisions of the Federal Constitution stipulate that the Agong has the discretionary power to appoint the prime minister, and as such, the appointment of Ismail is in accordance with the law.
According to the Parliamentary sitting calendar uploaded on the Parliament’s official website, apart from the motion of thanks for the Royal Address, also on the list is the tabling of the 12th Malaysia Plan for the period 2021-2025 by the government, scheduled on Sept 27.
Members of the Dewan Rakyat will take part in the motion of thanks and debate on the Royal Address for four days starting from Sept 14, followed by the reply session by relevant ministers on Sept 22 and 23.
The 12th Malaysia Plan debate session will proceed from Sept 28 to Oct 4, before the reply session by relevant ministers.
The last two days of the sitting on Oct 11 and 12 will be on Bills and other government matters.
Meanwhile, the Dewan Negara sitting, which will be officiated simultaneously with the Dewan Rakyat sitting, will take place from Oct 4 to Oct 26.
To minimise the risk of Covid-19 infection in Parliament, Dewan Rakyat speaker Azhar Azizan Harun had earlier said that various initiatives have been put in place, including the installation of ultra violet air filters at the main hall of Parliament as well as the use of nano technology in offices to kill bacteria and virus. He said this puts the level of ventilation in Parliament on par with that of a hospital.
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