PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has reminded members of Parliament from the unity government of their responsibility to engage in constructive debate during the First Meeting of the Fifth Session of the 15th Parliament, which begins Monday (Jan 19).
Madani government spokesperson Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the reminder was delivered by the Prime Minister during a pre-sitting briefing with unity government MPs at the Seri Perdana Complex here on Saturday (Jan 18).
"The Prime Minister reminded us to stay focused on our duties.
"In general, he stressed that as members of Parliament, our responsibility is not just to attend sittings, but to debate properly in the House,” Fahmi said when contacted on Saturday.
Fahmi said the briefing, which lasted about two hours from 2.30pm, also served as a platform for unity government members of the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara to strengthen ties ahead of the parliamentary sitting.
He also confirmed that four Bills have been identified as government priorities for tabling during the parliamentary session.
These include a Bill to limit the Prime Minister’s term of office to no more than 10 years or two full terms, a Bill on the separation of powers between the Public Prosecutor and the Attorney General, the Ombudsman Bill 2025 and a Bill related to the Freedom of Information Act.
Earlier, the Prime Minister left the Seri Perdana Complex at 4.20pm after chairing the briefing and took time to greet members of the media gathered here for updates.
The First Meeting of the Fifth Session of the 15th Parliament will begin tomorrow with the address by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, at the opening ceremony.
According to the parliamentary calendar on Parliament’s official website, in addition to the motion of thanks and debate on the Royal Address, the 20-day Dewan Rakyat sitting will see MPs taking part in the debate for seven days beginning Jan 20.
The sitting will then continue with ministers’ question time in the third week of the session from Feb 4 to 10, followed by the tabling of Bills and other government business from Feb 11 to March 3.- Bernama
