KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang today denied deliberately playing truant from Dewan Rakyat sittings in the immediate past when he was part of the government.
Gunning for reelection next week, the incumbent Marang MP who had served three straight terms attributed his low attendance rate to his other duties.
“Going to Parliament is not like going to school. Ministers will often go back to their duties after answering questions [in Parliament],” he was quoted as saying by news portal Astro Awani.
He also claimed to have been involved in many past debates in the lower House and wanted younger lawmakers in PAS to have more experience.
Abdul Hadi’s paltry attendance as an elected representative in the 14th Parliament was recently highlighted by civil society group MyMP, which released a report showing the number of times each of the 222 MPs showed up in the Dewan Rakyat since they were elected in 2018.
According to MyMP’s data, Abdul Hadi attended 28 out of the total 89 Parliamentary sittings in the last session.
His Pakatan Nasional colleague Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who heads Bersatu had the lowest attendance record of 24 days.
Abdul Hadi asserted that the attendance record was being played up by political rivals in the Opposition bloc in the run-up to the November 19 general election.
He reportedly does not believe it will affect his reputation or chances for reelection.
