PETALING JAYA: The decision to postpone the special Dewan Rakyat sitting on Monday (Aug 2) was made based on science and health data, says Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri.
The Deputy Prime Minister was also quoted by national news agency Bernama that the decision was not due to politics but was based on science and health data.
Earlier, in a notice to MPs issued Saturday (July 31), Dewan Rakyat secretary Nizam Mydin Bacha Mydin said Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun was informed by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin of the postponement of the special sitting in accordance with the advice of Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
“The special sitting of the third session of the 14th Parliament for Dewan Rakyat on Monday, Aug 2, will be postponed to a date to be determined later. This was decided by the Prime Minister based on Standing Order 11(3).
“This postponement is in accordance with the proposal by the Health director-general and the evaluation of the risk assessment by the Health Ministry, whereby following the latest spread of Covid-19 infections, the ministry is of the view that Parliament House is a locality of risk for the possible transmission of Covid-19.
“Therefore, I have been instructed by Deputy Speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon to present this notice to all Members of Parliament that the Dewan Rakyat will not be sitting on Aug 2,” said Nizam Mydin.
Dr Noor Hisham said 11 positive Covid-19 cases were detected in Parliament House when the sitting was in progress with 10 positive cases detected via RTK-Ag using saliva while another was tested via RT-PCR screening.
The five-day special sitting that began on July 26 was scheduled to end on Monday, while for the Dewan Negara, it is set for three days from Tuesday (Aug 3).
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