KUALA LUMPUR: Dewan Rakyat proceedings were temporarily halted after the Opposition called for a bloc vote on a motion for parliament not to adjourn until the disposal of two bills as stated in the Order Paper.
Perikatan Nasional parliamentary whip chief Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Baru) questioned why there were only two bills listed in the order paper.
"So far, looking at today’s schedule there are only two bills from the Natural Resources, Environment, and Climate Change ministry and they only contain one amendment.
"My question as an opposition member is, we have seven days left in the Dewan Rakyat, does the government not have any bills left?
"Or is the government planning a surprise like with the amendments on the Insolvency Act where the first reading was on May 22 and it was debated and passed the following day?" asked Takiyuddin.
Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (PN-Arau) also stood up, asking whether the government would proceed to debate on the private members bill once the government bills were debated.
Deputy Speaker Datuk Ramli Mohd Nor then reminded the Opposition that the Prime Minister was the leader of the House and he was in charge of the order of the day.
"Let us be clear, the head of the house is the prime minister and is in charge of all the orders of the day, what will be debated and all that.
"I am being bipartisan and any decision will be clarified by the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat," he said.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs, and Special Functions) Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong then tabled a motion to not adjourn the proceedings until the debates on the Renewable Energy (Amendment) Bill 2023 and the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2023 were completed.
Immediately after, Takiyuddin called for a bloc vote.
Temporary chaos ensued when the Deputy Speaker ordered for the bell to be rung for two minutes to notify MPs to come in to vote.
Several shouts were heard saying that the government might not have enough numbers and the motion would be defeated while the bell rang.
Ramli then announced an extra 10 minutes for MPs to be present in Parliament when bloc votes were called.
Shahidan then stood up to ask why the votes weren't counted immediately.
RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong) then said that the Deputy Speaker had made a ruling and urged Shahidan to stop questioning it.
While the ballot counting process was done, another ruckus started when Rayer said that some government MPs were unable to come in yet as they had other meetings outside.
He also urged the Deputy Speaker not to close Dewan's door.
Datuk Awang Hashim (PN-Pendang) asked the Deputy Speaker not to entertain the government MPs and asked for the doors to be closed.
"When they were in the Opposition, they asked for the doors to be closed. Let's make that a convention," he said before Ramli ordered the doors to be shut.
Several Opposition MPs including Datuk Mas Ermieyatie Samsudin (PN-Masjid Tanah) claimed that several government MPs had entered the Hall despite the doors being closed.
However, the Opposition's attempt to block the motion failed after Ramli announced that 83 MPs agreed to proceed with the government’s business in the Order Paper, 52 MPs opposed, 86 were absent, and one (Ramli) did not vote as he was chairing as the Deputy Speaker.
