KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 — The fourth week of the Dewan Rakyat sitting saw the motion of thanks for the royal address passed after all ministries and the Prime Minister’s Department concluded their respective winding-up sessions.

The motion was passed by a majority vote after being debated by 150 MPs from January 20, followed by winding-up speeches from February 4 until Tuesday.

Also approved during the week was the International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation Bill 2025.

Among others, the Bill aimed to support efforts to ratify the United Nations Convention on settlement agreements resulting from mediation, better known as the Singapore Convention, which Malaysia signed in 2019.

Also passed was the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link Bill 2026, which aimed to strengthen the legal framework governing cross-border transport operations between the two countries.

Among the highlights during the winding-up session this week was the Home Ministry’s announcement that the process to amend the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) would begin after receiving Cabinet policy approval last Friday.

The Dewan Rakyat was also informed that the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education were examining technical aspects following the decision to make Bahasa Melayu and History compulsory subjects under the National Curriculum for all education streams in the country.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said the focus was on assessment methods, examinations and quality monitoring involving international schools, sekolah agama rakyat, maahd tahfiz and Chinese private schools.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim informed the House that the government’s targeted subsidy measures had protected 85 per cent of the population and saved RM6 billion for petrol and RM5 billion for diesel.

In his remarks, the prime minister said the government would continue to intensify efforts to combat illegal gambling activities in the country, noting that enforcement actions to date had resulted in seizures amounting to billions of ringgit.

Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan said the ministry was working closely with the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living to study proposals to use MyKad for the purchase of subsidised cooking oil.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran said the principle of the rule of law applied equally to all individuals without exception, including the Chief Commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), following the latest allegations over share ownership involving Tan Sri Azam Baki.

This week’s sittings also saw the Environmental Quality (Amendment) Bill 2026 and the Capitation Grant Bill 2026 tabled for first reading.

On January 19, His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, graced the opening of the First Meeting of the Fifth Session of the 15th Parliament, which runs for 20 days until March 3.

The Dewan Rakyat sitting resumes on February 23 to make way for the Chinese New Year and Ramadan celebrations next week. — Bernama