IN a rare move, MPs went without lunch yesterday in a bid to wrap up debates before the tabling of Budget 2023 on Friday.
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Johari Abdul did not make the usual announcement that the House would break for lunch from 1pm to 2.30pm.
Johari instead invited Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at about 1pm to wrap up his ministerial replies.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also Rural and Territories Minister, spent almost 45 minutes for his replies.
This was followed by ministerial replies by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof in his capacity as Plantation and Commodities Minister, who spent 30 minutes doing so.
A total of 148 MPs participated in the debate on the motion of thanks on the royal address at the Dewan Rakyat, totalling five sitting days since Feb 14.
Owing to a tight schedule, most MPs were given about seven minutes to raise issues during their debates instead of the usual 10 to 15-minute allowance.
The race to keep to the schedule became apparent on Tuesday when the Dewan Rakyat adjourned its sitting at about 11pm to complete debates for all 148 MPs.
A total of 15 ministries were scheduled to wrap up their respective ministerial replies last night, while the remaining 13 ministries will conclude their replies today.
