KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 — The Dewan Rakyat sitting will be held for half-day beginning today until Thursday after it was adjourned at 1 pm yesterday as a precautionary measure following the spread of Covid-19 outbreak in the country.
The matter was proposed by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan under Standing Order 12(1) before the question-and-answer session today and was seconded by Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin.
Several members of the house reacted to the motion, who requested Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun to explain the status of several Parliament’s staff, who was reported to have been tested positive for Covid-19.
At today’s session, Azhar also explained that the Dewan Negara staff and an auxiliary policeman who were tested positive for Covid-19 had not been in the Parliament Building since the day they took the Covid-19 test on October 28.
He said the media report on the auxiliary policeman was untrue and the individual was actually attached somewhere else and not at the Parliament Building.
“Yesterday’s report which said that our auxiliary policeman (at Parliament Building ) was tested positive for Covid-19 was not true. He is not our auxiliary policeman, he was attached somewhere else… probably under the JPM (Prime Minister’s Department), but not at the PM’s Office,” he said.
On the report that four Dewan Negara staff were tested positive for the disease, Azhar said they were not actually Dewan Negara staff, but the staff of a Senator who came to Parliament for Covid-19 test last Wednesday.
“Maybe the Senator and her staff had intended to attend the tabling of Budget 2021 this Friday and they came (last Wednesday) for Covid-19 screening and were tested positive, but they were not here on daily basis, so that was not the case,” he said.
Azhar explained the matter after Datuk Mahfuz Omar (PH-Pokok Sena) raised the issue and expressed concern over the possibility of the Covid-19-positive staff and auxiliary policeman moving around the Parliament Building.
Meanwhile, Dr Maszlee Malik (Independent-Simpang Renggam) who is sharing an office with the senator wanted to know when was the last time she was in the office and whether the room had been sanitised.
The Speaker then said that the Parliament would issue an official explanation on the matter soon.
“I’m asking all of you Members of Parliament to stay calm and take care of yourselves by following all the standard operating procedures. We all have been tested negative for Covid-19 here. So, stay calm,” he said.
Following the decision that the Dewan Rakyat would sit for only half-day until Thursday, the Special Chamber session had also been reset to start from 11am until 1pm from today to Thursday.
Normally, the Special Chamber session starts at 2.30pm.
— Bernama
