#kerajaangagal177 – The five-day meeting of Parliament from July 26 is not a proper Parliamentary meeting but just a special briefing session, with a series of Ministerial statements on the Covid-19 pandemic

Yesterday evening, I received email notice from Parliament about reconvening of Parliament on July 26.

The five-day meeting of Parliament from July 26 is not a proper Parliamentary meeting but just a special briefing session with a series of Ministerial statements on the Covid-19 pandemic.

Malaysia is providing the world the example of a muffled and emasculated Parliament.

Firstly, there would be no Question Time, which under Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders 22(2) would require Members of Parliament to give notice of at least 10 working days – and there are no 10 working days before the July 26 meeting.

Secondly, no Opposition motions would be allowed.

The Emergency Proclamation and Ordinances would be tabled in Parliament but there is no vote on the Emergency Proclamation and Ordinances.

According to the parliamentary notice yesterday, the agenda is just a series of Ministerial statements on the National Recovery Plan, Vaccination Programme, Emergency Implementation and the Economic Assistance Packages.

The notice said that the Speaker would allow MPs to ask for clarification and give views during the Ministerial statements, but will MPs be allowed to debate and vote on the respective Ministerial statements?

If MPs can convene to meet, why can’t Parliament hold an ordinary Parliamentary meeting in accordance with normal parliamentary practices and the Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders for the past six decades?

The parliamentary notice is in fact a violation of the Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders.

In this connection, it is shocking to read of the Utusan Malaysia report quoting the Senate President Rais Yatim as saying that any attempt to unseat Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin via a no-confidence motion in the coming Dewan Rakyat sitting will not be allowed.

Has Rais Yatim become the de facto Parliament Speaker?

This is indeed a black day for Parliament.

Is this muffled and emasculated Parliament the government’s answer to the repeated decree of the Yang di Pertuan Agong and the Rulers for Parliament to be convened before the emergency ends on August 1?