Parliament Is Session 1

---

Malaysiakini brings you live coverage of the developments in the Dewan Rakyat today
BN likens speaker removal to Port Dickson by-election12.15pm - Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh (PAS-Pasir Puteh) begins debating the motion to remove Dewan Rakyat speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof for the government
He says there is nothing wrong with Ariff but a new candidate is needed with the change of government
Nik Muhammad (above) adds that the opposition should not assume Ariff's nominated replacement Azhar Azizan Harun is a bad candidate
"All of them are good, I don't doubt it," he says
Noh Omar (BN-Tanjung Karang) then interjects, pointing out that the Federal Constitution does not require any reason to remove the speaker
Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (BN-Baling) also interjects, likening the motion to former Port Dickson MP Danyal Balagopal Abdullah resigning to make way for Anwar Ibrahim to contest the seat
"What is the difference? That one even wasted taxpayer's money," Abdul Azeez (above) says
This prompted protests from PKR MPs, including Chang Lih Kang (PKR-Tanjung Malim) who questions if the current speaker had resigned
Nik Muhammad then concludes his speech in support of the motion
Dr Mahathir Mohamand (IND-Langkawi) then continues the debate for the opposition
Anwar questions why remove speaker when track record is good12.00pm - After the earlier commotion dies down, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim questions why the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government wanted to remove speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof without justification
“I ask the prime minister to reconsider and do not make this mistake. In our opinion, this tarnishes the sanctity of the Parliament
“If we have a speaker with impressive credentials and good track record, but we want to simply use our powers to replace him with the excuse that there are new candidates… this is a very unreasonable excuse,” Anwar says
It is not right for MPs to use their powers to fire a speaker who has performed so well in his role, Anwar says
“Where is our conscience as an MP?” he asks
This would be the first time something like this has happened in the history of the country, he points out, as there has never been a speaker replaced through this method, without a good justification
Opposition MPs protest Rashid's handling of motion11.46am - Deputy speaker Mohd Rashid Hasnon allows two MPs from each side to debate Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's motion to remove Dewan Rakyat speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof with 10 minutes given to each
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim protests, asking that more time to be given as it is a historic motion
Rashid refuses and when Anwar (below) persists, another MP from the government is asked to debate the motion
Anwar then grudgingly agrees to debate but is interjected by Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong) who argues that the speaker can only be replaced if there is a vacancy
They demand that Rashid make a ruling on the matter but Rashid ignores them, claiming the opposition's 10 minutes is up
This prompts a chorus of protest from opposition MPs
"My ruling is to proceed... I gave 10 minutes to the opposition leader, the time is almost up. I ask the other side to debate," he says
Rashid (below) says Anwar has a minute left, to which he shrugged
"I want to put on record that despite a question to the speaker about the vacancy, he did not answer it
"It is the first time that a question is not addressed by the speaker - be it whether he is afraid or unqualified," Anwar says
Anwar then proceeds with the debate, defending Mohamad Ariff's performance
Muhyiddin tables motion to remove speaker11.46am - Question Time concludes. Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin tables the customary first motion for the police to ensure that MPs can have access to the Parliament building which was quickly approved
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin then tables his awaited motion on the removal of Dewan Rakyat speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof
Deputy speaker Mohd Rashid Hasnon is now presiding over the House instead of Mohamad Ariff
Banter over bamboo11.20am - Friendly banter takes place after Mohd Hatta Md Ramli (Amanah-Lumut) asks Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali (above) about plans to replace oil palm plantations with bamboo
After Khairuddin explains that the government has no plans for replacement but will improve the bamboo sector, Hatta says he is glad that PN, which now in power, is no longer making fun of the industry
"Last time, it was politicised with someone asking which species is suitable to be used as the exhaust pipe of a flying car," says Hatta (below)
However, Khairuddin shot back that it was a matter of approach and presentation
"The issue is in the way of answering by linking oil palm to bamboo. Oil palm is a separate issue that needs to be improved on and bamboo is also a separate issue that needs to be improved
"But that (linking bamboo and oil palm) was Seputeh's approach," he says in reference to Teresa Kok Suh Sim (DAP-Seputeh) who was the former plantation industries and commodities minister
No plans for DBKL to offer assessment tax discount11.00am - Fong Kui Lun (DAP-Bukit Bintang) asks if Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) intends to provide a discount for assessment tax during the Covid-19 pandemic
Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa (above) says there are no such plans but says that other measures have been taken including a six-month rent exemption for public housing owned by DBKL and traders using DBKL premises
In a follow-up question, Fong asks why an assessment tax discount is not being considered to which Annuar explains that the Local Government Act does not have a provision offering discounts for assessment tax
However, he says the law allows people to apply for an exemption if they are unable to rent out their premises
Ruckus as government questioned for hiring US-based company to develop MySejahtera app10.45am - A minor commotion erupts in the Dewan Rakyat as Maszlee Malik (IND-Simpang Renggam) questions Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof over the government enlisting United States-based company KPISoft Inc for the development of the MySejahtera app instead of a local firm
“The question is, why is Perikatan Nasional (PN) which so-called defends the Malays and the Muslims, why did they not give (the opportunity) to Malay-Muslim companies which develop digital software and we have many such companies,” Maszlee (below) asks
Redzuan replies that just because KPISoft Inc is registered in the US does not mean that it cannot be owned by Malaysians as he had earlier said that the company is actually Malaysian
However, Maszlee interjects and speaks over Redzuan, questioning why the government was channelling tax money to a company based overseas
This starts a commotion as Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (PN-Baling) also begins speaking over Maszlee as Redzuan continues to attempt to answer the question
Several other MPs join in the chaos as they all continue to talk over each other
“We need to open our minds, we always talk about globalisation...” Redzuan starts again when he is interrupted by Maszlee again, who reiterated his question about tax money being channelled to a company abroad
Before Redzuan (above) could answer, Abdul Azeez slams Maszlee, “When you’re the opposition, you want to be smart, but when you were the minister, you weren’t smart”
The speaker breaks up the argument by going to the next question
MPs quiz Muhyiddin why stimulus package not debated10.30am - The first query during Question Time comes from Rubiah Wang (GPS-Kota Samarahan) who asks about the state of the economy amid the Covid-19 pandemic
She also asks how the prime minister and the government can ensure no one is left out from the economic stimulus programme
Muhyiddin replies, "That is why we have set up the Economic Stimulus Implementation & Coordination Unit Between National Agencies (Laksana) to oversee the list of the stimulus package so that it reaches all sections of society."Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim then follows up with a question on why the stimulus package was not debated in Parliament
"The impact is huge, the amount is huge. Is it not reasonable to let MPs debate it? Why did we prevent debate about the economic recovery while the appointments in government-linked companies can continue?" he says in reference to the government's decision to prevent any debate during the one-day Parliament sitting on May 18
Muhyiddin says he had expected Anwar's question and stressed the urgency of the economic stimulus plan
"The government had no choice. Immediate action had to be taken even before the Parliament sessions started... The people cannot wait for the Parliament session, they needed help immediately," he says
Muhyiddin assures that Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz will present to the House details of the stimulus package in the near future
Shafie Apdal (Warisan-Semporna), in a follow-up question, remarks that Sabah was able to hold a three-day sitting in April despite the Covid-19 pandemic
Shafie (below), who is also the Sabah chief minister, expresses concern about the unemployment situation and asks what the federal government is doing about it
Muhyiddin replies: "The unemployment rate is indeed going up due to Covid-19 and it's a global problem. The projection now is at five percent.""Around 720,000 (are unemployed) and this could increase to 860,000 at the end of the year. This does not give me joy but what is important is to arrest the deterioration," he says, listing several measures undertaken by the government including loan moratoriums
Social distancing measures under new normal10.10am - Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof officially announces Anwar Ibrahim (PH-Port Dickson) as the opposition leader
“Based on the feedback I have received, I am satisfied that Anwar has received support from among the opposition members to be appointed the opposition leader,” says Ariff
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Ariff (below) says there has to be a new normal in the way Parliament is run
“In the Dewan Rakyat, MPs also have to go through the new normal and always comply with social distancing
“Plus, there are 87 MPs who are more than 60 years old, who are definitely at high risk,” he says
He also explains the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the Dewan Rakyat which includes observing social distancing measures. This means only 174 MPs will be placed in the main area of the Dewan Rakyat
Some of the government backbenchers and independent MPs will be placed in the public gallery while some of the oppositions MPs are placed at the officers' area to the speaker’s left
Ariff says the MPs sitting in those areas can use the microphones prepared for them, or they can go to the prepared area if they have any questions or debates
Anwar (above) then urges the speaker to install temporary microphones for the MPs sitting in the public gallery and the officers’ area
Bung Moktar Radin (PN-Kinabatangan) agrees with Anwar, saying that he feels bad for his colleagues sitting in the public gallery who may trip (tersungkur) and fall when heading to the prepared area to ask their questions or to debate
The speaker says the Parliament is trying their best to adapt to the new normal under the Covid-19 pandemic
First full Parliament session of PN government begins10.00am - The Dewan Rakyat bell starts to ring, summoning all MPs into the House
The session this morning will start with the customary Question Time where MPs can direct their questions to government ministries for explanation and clarification
This is expected to last until 11.30am, after which the order of business will begin, including Muhyiddin Yassin's motions to replace Dewan Rakyat speaker Mohamed Ariff Md Yusof and deputy speaker Nga Kor Ming
The PN government intends to nominate former Election Commission chief Azhar Azizan Harun and Pengerang MP Azalina Othman as their respective replacements
Today marks the first day of a full Parliament sitting since the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government took over in March. This sitting will go on until Aug 27
The last sitting on May 18, which lasted for a single day, was only to hear the royal address with no debates allowed, prompting accusations that the PN government was trying to stall attempts to test Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's majority in the House
Since then, at least three variations of a confidence vote have been submitted by government and opposition MPs but none are likely to go to the floor as government motions always take priority over motions by individual MPs
The government motions that are at the top of the list include four by Muhyiddin to remove the Dewan Rakyat speaker and deputy speaker and to replace them with PN's own candidates
However, the premier's motions are now seen as a proxy confidence vote for him
If Muhyiddin fails to rally enough MPs to remove Ariff and Nga, it could reflect on his lack of support in the House. Conversely, if he succeeds, Muhyiddin would be on a stronger footing
According to the previous Dewan Rakyat sitting, Muhyiddin has the support of 113 MPs in the 222-member House
Since then, Sri Gading MP Shahruddin Md Salleh had quit the government and will likely side with the opposition but this has been evened out by Lubuk Antu MP Jugah Muyang quitting PKR to become a PN-friendly independent. - Mkini

---