JUNE 22 — Parliament is generally recalled with a 28-day notice but it can dispense with such notice and convene for an emergency sitting. Parliamentary standing orders allow for the requirement to be set aside.
Under the Dewan Rakyat Standing Order 9(2)(a), in cases of urgency as may be determined by the Speaker the 28-day notice may be dispensed with, and in that event “the longest notice possible shall be given.”.JPG)
As a matter of fact, it was former prime minister Najib Razak as the Leader of the Dewan Rakyat, who represented to the Speaker under Standing Order 11(3) that the public interest requires that the Dewan Rakyat should meet for a “special meeting” (Mesyuarat Khas) to debate a motion on the tragic downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
The emergency parliamentary meeting, as it was called then, was announced by Najib when he addressed the nation live on national television on the night of July 18, 2014. No date, however, was given.
But the secretary of the Dewan Rakyat had indeed issued a notice dated July 18, 2014 to the members of Parliament that a special meeting of the Dewan Rakyat would be held for one day on July 23, 2014 at 10.00 am.
It was a 5-day notice – a 3-working day notice in fact.
So yes, Parliament has met on short notice as long as it is “the longest notice possible”.
*This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
