Utusan Malaysia reported Hadi as saying that he usually could not attend sittings in the Dewan Rakyat due to other commitments, including his duties as an MP as well as special envoy to the Middle East.

“Attending Parliament is not like attending school, people still don’t get it. Ministers don’t just sit around waiting,” he said at an event in Marang today.

Previously, it was reported that Hadi had only been present on 21 out of the 71 Dewan Rakyat sittings last term, thus holding the record for the lowest attendance.

Hadi added that he rarely attended Dewan Rakyat because he wanted to enable younger MPs from his party to get involved in debates.

“I’ve been an MP for a long time, and I’ve debated plenty. Now, I’m giving the young ones a chance to participate in the debates. If I were to speak, I’d be taking up their time,” he said.

The six-term Marang MP was appointed special envoy to the Middle East in April 2020 during the administration of former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

He is defending the Marang seat in the general election (GE15) against Jasmira Othman of Barisan Nasional (BN), Zarawi Sulung (Pejuang) and Azhar Abdul Shukur (Pakatan Harapan).