Parliament Sitting Useless Without Debate Say Umno Leaders

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The special Dewan Rakyat sitting next week would be useless without motions being tabled and debated by MPs, several Umno leaders and representatives said today.
This comes after Parliament earlier yesterday released its order paper for the sitting to begin on Monday, which showed that it would be filled with briefing sessions by ministers.
While other MPs are allowed to ask questions which are to be answered by five ministers, no debate or voting session to pass any motion was scheduled.
Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan, when contacted this afternoon, expressed his disappointment with the sitting agenda, saying that the absence of such crucial items in the parliamentary session prevents them from playing the role as a check-and-balance mechanism on the executive.
"A Parliament sitting must have debates. And motions must be passed by Parliament. Then only there would be accountability.
"If there is no debate, no voting session (by MPs), then the executive can do all they want without a thorough check and balance.
"So, they can just lepas tangan (hands off attitude)," he told Malaysiakini.




Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan
According to the Pontian MP, this would be the first time for him since becoming a representative in the House in 2008 that a Parliament sitting does not have any debate.
Ahmad said he had previously participated in two special sittings - one was to discuss the issue of Palestine in 2009 and another in 2015 on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.
"But even on these issues, both of them had debate sessions and motions had to be passed in Parliament.
"This one (next week) would just be a session where ministers make their statements without the need to get any approval from the House," he said.
Ahmad added that the scheduled session for question-and-answer is not to be mistaken as a debate, stressing that they are not the same.
Nonetheless, the politician said he hoped that the Dewan Rakyat would allow for important issues such as the Emergency Ordinances to be scrutinised by MPs, and that each of them who wishes to speak should be allowed at least 15 minutes and not blocked from speaking.
According to the order paper, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is scheduled to give the first briefing, which is on the National Recovery Plan, followed by Health Minister Dr Adham Baba (on Covid-19 pandemic management), Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin (on vaccination programme), Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz (on economic stimulus packages), and Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who is also the defence minister, on the Emergency.




Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan
Meanwhile, Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan described the Parliament sitting order as perfunctory.
"If it is just going to be a briefing session, then might as well just send out the briefs in a PDF file.
"There is no need to hold a Parliament session. This is like melepaskan batuk di tangga," he told Malaysiakini, citing a Malay proverb that describes works that are done half-way or unfinished.
Jerantut MP Ahmad Nazlan Idris, meanwhile, did not mince his word and regarded next week's session as not fit to be called a Parliament sitting.
He said that it should be called a "gathering of MPs" instead.
"This is definitely not a sitting. It's just a session to give briefings.
"We cannot call this a Parliament session. It should be called a gathering for MPs. This is the first time in history," he told Malaysiakini.
Nazlan said that as an MP, he believes that it is inappropriate for a Parliament sitting to be held the way it is scheduled next week.
"To me, it also does not adhere to what the king has decreed," he said, referring to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's wish to see the Parliament reconvene before Aug 1.





Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan
Shahril Hamdan, who is Umno information chief, told Malaysiakini that he had hoped that this Parliament session would not be a façade (olok-olok).
"However, it seems that my fear has been realised," he told Malaysiakini.
Shahril added that since the government has already set the agenda for the sitting, he hoped that the government would give out an extensive explanation to the House on critical issues faced by the nation today.
He said these include thorough explanation on government assistance for the rakyat, how the government plans to bring Malaysia through phases of the National Recovery Plan, criteria of industries that are allowed to operate during the phases, and the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
For the record, Mohamad and Shahril are not MPs. Mohamad is a Negeri Sembilan state assemblyperson for Rantau. - Mkini

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