Stop with the numbers game

PETALING JAYA: The upcoming Parliament sitting on Monday is expected to be heated with both sides of the political divide gearing up for the six state elections set to be held before the end of July.

Political analyst Dr Azmi Hassan said Pakatan Harapan lawmakers should be prepared for any move by the Opposition to show they have the numbers to form the government during the Lower House’s second meeting of the second session of the 15th Parliament which will be held from May 22 to June 15

The Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research senior fellow added that the unity government MPs should use the Lower House sitting which starts on May 22 to stop the “numbers game”.

“In the upcoming parliament session, the numbers game of who has the majority will definitely come up and Perikatan Nasional lawmakers will try to play up issues such as the usage of the word, Allah.

“The issues raised by Perikatan will relate closely to the voters’ perception as they will vote for stability and Pakatan must show that,” he said yesterday.

The six states – Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan – did not dissolve their state assemblies to hold state polls along with parliamentary polls in the 15th General Election on Nov 19, 2022.

The Election Commission previously said the six states should consider holding the polls simultaneously, adding that holding it together would cost RM450mil.

In the upcoming sitting, there is no need for another play of the numbers game, political analyst Dr Ainul Adzellie Hasnul from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said as it has been voted and proven the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has the majority during the last Dewan Rakyat sitting.

Dr Ainul added that another move expected to be manoeuvred by the Opposition is the continuation of the “green wave” strategy from PAS.

Ainul said there are more vocal MPs from PAS side expected to raise questions as a way to show they have done their work.

“This way, when the MPs get up and ask questions, the voters would see that they are doing their work as the representative.

“In a way, the method is to attract voters for the upcoming six state elections.

“But the government has proven that they are doing their work with the appointment of 10 bipartisan special select committees to serve as checks and balances to the government as well as the providing transparency through the Prime Minister’s Question Time held every Tuesday at Parliament,” he said.

The much debated and revised Control of Tobacco Products and Smoking Control Bill will be tabled during the 11-day Dewan Rakyat session as well as the Health Ministry’s White Paper.

According to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, there are three Bills that will be read for the second time in the next session, namely, The Penal Code (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2023, Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) (No.2) 2023 and Mental Health Act 2001 (Act 615).

The three Bills consist of four main policies will include the abolishment of Section 309 of the Penal Code which made suicide a criminal offence, to increase penalties to those who instigate victims to commit suicide and to separate the categories related to victims by enhancing sections 305 and 306 of the Penal Code as well as establishing the role of crisis intervention officers.