KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 — The Dewan Negara sitting has been brought forward by three weeks and will be held concurrently with the Dewan Rakyat beginning next week.
The Parliament today issued a circular to senators on the new dates, which means the upper House will sit at the same time as the lower House for the first time in Malaysian history.
The senate was originally scheduled to sit between April 16 to April 30, but will now sit from March 26 to April 5, for eight days.
The Dewan Rakyat is also scheduled to end on April 5, meaning that the federal government is likely to pass any pending Bills in both houses in this Parliament sitting as the 14th general election draws closer.
The redelineation report is expected to be tabled in Parliament at the end of this week or early next week.
The report itself does not require senate approval to be gazetted, but Putrajaya today tabled a Supplementary Supply Bill for RM7 billion, which needs Senate approval.
The change in dates also mean that the government could possibly attempt to pass its new legislation on fake news before the elections.
The bill is yet to be tabled in Parliament to date, but with the senate meeting concurrently, it could help expedite the passing of any new legislation presented by the government.
The current meeting is widely expected to be the last before Parliament is dissolved to make way for elections.
