In attendance: The opening ceremony of the First Meeting of the Second Session of the 15th Parliament. — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: The First Meeting of the Second Session of the 15th Parliament, which began on Monday, had several firsts.
It was the first for a unity government. And it was the first for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as Prime Minister.
And a new addition to the agenda was announced - Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Johari Abdul sad the Prime Minister would respond to questions during the ministerial questions time (MQT) session on Tuesdays, while ministers concerned would respond during the MQT sessions on Thursday.
The session with the Prime Minister will be one of the reforms to be implemented in Parliament.
The week saw some heated moments with lots of drama and verbal exchanges between opposing MPs, such as on the second day of sitting between Datuk Dr Seri Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) and Chong Zhemin (DAP-Kampar).
Dr Wee was debating the motion on the royal address, in which he chastised the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry for importing chicken eggs from India to address the egg shortage.
Following heated argument, the Speaker reprimanded Chong and told him to sit several times, but it went unheeded.
“Kampar has to listen to me. Sit down. After the minister has answered, Kampar can ask the minister. That’s the rule. As a newbie, sit and learn first,” said the Speaker.
The commotion did not prevent Johari and his deputy, Datuk Ramli Mohd Nor, from handling the situation to ensure the meeting went smoothly.
At one juncture, on the fourth day of the sitting, Ramli reminded members of the house to always mind their behaviour and conduct to avoid the public having a negative perception of them, like labelling Parliament as a “zoo”.
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, in his royal address when opening the Parliament sitting on Monday, touched on various issues, including the importance of political stability.
His Majesty also expressed his wish for Anwar to be the last Prime Minister appointed during his rule, as well as his desire to drive on the Pan Borneo Highway in Sabah and Sarawak.
Fifty MPs from the government and the opposition took part in the debate on the royal address.
The Dewan Rakyat also approved the Select Committee members for the 15th Parliament, with Johari as the chairman.
The six committee members include Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof (GPS-Petra Jaya), Transport Minister Anthony Loke (PH-Seremban) and Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli (PH-Pandan).
Other members are Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reforms) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (BN-Pengerang), Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin (PN-Larut) and Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu). — Bernama
