KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 — Parliament will sit for five days starting July 26, the Prime Minister’s Office announced in a statement issued this evening, after months of public and Palace pressure.
Dewan Rakyat proceedings will take place from July 26 to July 29 and August 2, the statement said. Meanwhile, the Senate will sit for three days from August 3 to August 5
“The government has agreed to act on the advice of His Royal Highness the Agong so that a Special Third Parliamentary Proceeding of the 14th Term would be held for five days from July 26 to July 29 and August 2 for the Dewan Rakyat and three days from August 3 to 5 for Dewan Negara,” the statement said.
“The special sitting will be for the purpose of explaining to members about the National Recovery Plan and amend all laws and regulations to allow for a hybrid proceeding to be held,” it added.
“Based on Clause (3) Article 150 of the Federal Constitution, all emergency proclamations and ordinances declared by His Royal Highness the Agong shall be laid before both Houses in Parliament.”
Prior to today’s announcement, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had faced growing pressure to convene Parliament amid mounting criticism over his government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Perikatan Nasional administration refused to cave in until today amid talks that Muhyiddin was trying to prevent the Opposition from ousting him through a no-confidence vote.
The prime minister had often cited the public health crisis and the danger of transmission to justify keeping both the Lower and Upper Houses closed.
This had prompted the Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to issue two statements in the last two weeks, calling for Muhyiddin to convene Parliament “as soon as possible.”
The PMO said the special parliament sitting will observe a standard operating procedure to be prepared by the National Security Council with the advice of the Ministry of Health.
