Parliament’s facilities adequate for hybrid sitting

KUALA LUMPUR: Parliament has adequate facilities to implement a hybrid sitting at any time if necessary, says Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon.

He said Parliament was also in the process of finalising other technical aspects.

“Of course we are prepared and the existing facilities are adequate, we are making additions to implement it (a hybrid sitting),” he said, adding that for the Dewan Rakyat to convene, it would follow the Standing Orders that set the need to provide a 28-day notice before a meeting.

“We leave it to the discretion of the Leader of the House for its implementation,” he said.

Mohd Rashid said the implementation of a hybrid Parliament sitting is something new and might go down as a historical moment for Malaysia as it faces the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It also represents a new challenge for the Speaker who will be facing monitors instead of MPs physically,” he said.

Mohd Rashid said if a hybrid Dewan Rakyat meeting were to take place, there would be several Standing Orders that require amendments, including the voting process.

All amendments will be included as an addendum to the existing Standing Orders.

Asked about how many MPs must be present if the amendments were to be passed, Mohd Rashid said the minimum number for a quorum was 26 MPs.

Previously, the Dewan Rakyat (with the Speaker’s ruling) had set a maximum of 80 MPs (in the Dewan Rakyat) but the actual total and method are still at the final stages of discussion. — Bernama