KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 — Parliament is meeting for only a single day next week due to the government’s lack of political will, and not any genuine technical difficulty arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, Selayang MP William Leong asserted today.
The PKR lawmaker claimed the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government’s plan to adjourn the session immediately after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s Royal Address and to bar any debate on May 18 suggested it did not command confidence in the Lower House.
“By not allowing a debate and vote on the Royal Address, PN not only shows a lack of respect for the Dewan Rakyat but has also shut out the voices of the people at a time when they are needed most.
“The Covid-19 pandemic is not an acceptable excuse for Tan Sri Muhyddin Yassin’s administration to balk at taking on its very first formal hurdle of debating the Throne Speech,” he said in a statement.
According to Leong, the Royal Address or commonly referred to as the “Throne Speech” in other countries, marked the beginning of a new Parliamentary session and was politically important because it is the first test of a government’s ability to command the confidence of the Lower House.
“The Throne Speech sets out the government’s policies, priorities and programmes for the coming session of parliament including legislation it intends to pass.
“The normal and proper procedure after the speech is for Parliament to debate and vote on its acceptance,” he said, citing an incident in 1924 when British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin was defeated in a vote on his government’s legislative programme set out in the Throne Speech and resigned immediately after.
The first Parliamentary meeting for this year was initially scheduled for March 9 to April 16 but was postponed to May 18 following the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government and the formation of the PN administration.
However, PN then shortened the meeting to just one day, using the Covid-19 pandemic as the reason.
The Opposition has been pressuring Muhyiddin to extend Monday’s sitting for at least two days, citing concern over the lack of time to scrutinise the PN administration’s response to the Covid-19 crisis.
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah is expected to grace the opening ceremony of the First Meeting of the Third Term of the 14th Parliament on Monday.
He later cited an Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) report stating that parliaments around the world were running during the pandemic by moving to bigger buildings to allow for effective social distancing or video conferencing using technology that was presently available.
Leong further quoted IPU secretary-general Martin Chungong as saying that Parliaments have a duty to ensure that all measures taken result in enhanced protection and support of the vulnerable in times of crisis as measures that have a profound impact on the populace required more Parliament scrutiny.
