KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 — The first week of the Dewan Rakyat sitting proved to be eventful, with the first royal address by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim on Monday (February 26) and the commotion which saw the opposition MPs staging a walkout the following day.
The 17th King of Malaysia’s royal address at the opening of the First Meeting of the Third Session of the 15th Parliament was laden with valuable advice and reminders, including for all Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara members to behave during the session.
In fact, His Majesty also gave the ‘green light’ to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker and the Dewan Negara President to take stern action against any member of the two Houses who ‘oversteps the boundaries’.
Sultan Ibrahim also touched on issues related to racial unity, food security, and economic development.
The motion of thanks for the royal address was brought forth by Shah Alam MP Azli Yusof, who also proposed an amendment to allow control mechanisms on integrity issues and any mismanagement which could harm Malaysia to be done at an earlier stage.
So far, 51 MPs have debated the motion, which encompasses various aspects including education, cost of living, high-technology sectors, and the marketability of local graduates.
On Tuesday (February 27), another history was made when the Rukun Negara pledge, beginning from its preamble, was recited by all MPs before they began the sitting.
The pledge reading was led by Dewan Rakyat Secretary Nizam Mydin Bacha Mydin.
It was the National Unity Ministry’s initiative approved by the Cabinet on July 25 last year, whereby the pledge, including its preamble, will be recited at the beginning of every Dewan Rakyat session, which is the second day after the opening of the first meeting of every Parliament session.
A commotion also heated up the Dewan Rakyat sitting in the first week which saw the Opposition stage a walkout in protest over what they claimed were actions that did not abide by the Standing Orders.
The commotion began after Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul gave permission to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to deliver a speech to congratulate the new King, and thank the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Mustafa Billah Shah in the middle of the debate on the royal address.
Anwar described the Opposition’s protest as rude and showed that they did not respect the royal institution.
According to the Parliament calendar, the sitting will run for 19 days until March 27.
— Bernama
