KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has suggested that federal and state legislative bodies do not sit beyond midnight, while launching a conference of Parliament and State Assembly Speakers today.
The Selangor Sultan said such late sittings would see lawmakers convening at a time that is not optimal for their minds.
“I would like to recommend for the House to reduce meetings that go over resting time which is after 12 midnight.
“I am confident that the mental fitness of everyone including the House secretariat and reporters would not be at the optimum level then,” His Royal Highness was quoted saying.
Last month, a Parliament sitting ended slightly after 5am on April 7 after lasting nearly 20 hours straight, setting a new record in the country.
The Dewan Rakyat’s clock was stopped at 11.59pm, but discussions carried on into the wee hours of the morning after Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia invoked Standing Order 90 (2) to suspend Standing Order 12 (3) allowing the House can stop the clock to allow debates to go on indefinitely past midnight.
This allowed the House to debate and pass five government Bills, including the Tourism Tax Bill 2017 tabled by Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.
The incident however was not unique, with at least four meetings that ended past midnight in the last four years.
