KUALA LUMPUR: Lawmakers are expected to work after hours next Monday debating the 12th Malaysia Plan mid-term review (12MP MTR).
Deputy speaker Datuk Mohd Ramli Mohd Nor told the Dewan Rakyat this was a possibility, adding that each MP would now be given seven minutes to debate, instead of the usual 10 minutes, for the remainder of the six-day special sitting.
Party chiefs will still be given 10 minutes to debate, Ramli said.
Ramli said this when responding to a question by Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah (PN-Indera Mahkota) on whether longer sessions could be considered as compared to MPs only having seven minutes to debate.
“I will raise this during my meeting with the Dewan Rakyat speaker.
“If agreed, we will set proceedings to carry on past 7.30pm. I have also been made to understand that the Dewan Rakyat will most probably carry on till 10pm on Monday.
“But for the time being, we will do what has been decided,” he told the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday.
During the first Parliament meeting in March, proceedings in the house lasted until about 9pm daily.
Subsequent meetings in June meanwhile adjourned between 5.30pm to 7.30pm.
When assuming the chair, Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul told The Star that he did not want Parliament meetings to extend beyond 8.30pm.
He described parliament sessions that dragged on into the night or even dawn as unproductive, with the exception of urgent matters such as the Budget.
