Opposition leaders seek two-week Parliament sitting

Decision venue: Dr Mahathir has announced that the next Prime Minister will be chosen in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.

PETALING JAYA: Opposition leaders have urged the government to allow Parliament to sit for two weeks, since the movement control order (MCO) has been relaxed.

With a relaxed MCO, this meant that the threat of Covid-19 has been under control and several activities could continue with the condition that it follows the standard operating procedures (SOPs), they said.

"For the Parliament sitting, the SOPs include social distancing, wearing masks, and conducting Covid-19 screening for parliamentarians.

"Considering that Parliament has decided on the SOPs for the May 18 sitting, and that more activities have been allowed to be conducted, there is no excuse or barriers for Parliament to have a full sitting more than the one day that was announced," they said in a joint statement on Monday (May 4).

The statement was signed by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Parti Amanah Negara president Mohamad Sabu, and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

They said that a longer sitting would allow for an in-depth debate, as well as allow Cabinet members to carry out legislative agenda for their respective ministries.

"We urged the government to immediately implement a full parliamentary sitting by increasing the number of sittings to at least two weeks," they said.

The upcoming parliamentary session on May 18 was supposed to sit for 15 days after the initial March 9 sitting was postponed due to the political crisis which saw the collapse of the Pakatan government.

However, on April 17, Dewan Rakyat secretary Riduan Rahmat issued a circular to all MPs informing them of the one-day May 18 sitting, where only government Bills and matters would be discussed.