For checks and balances

Important arm of governance: Parliament, where our laws are made and checks and balances are in place. — Filepic/The Star

THE Dewan Rakyat speaker, it was reported, said that he had received a notification letter from the Prime Minister stating that the agenda of the Parliamentary sitting on May 18 has been amended to focus only on the royal address. The reason for limiting the agenda is said to be the Covid-19 pandemic.

Without doubt, Standing Order 11(2) allows the Prime Minister, as leader of the Dewan Rakyat, to determine the dates on which the Dewan Rakyat shall meet, and Standing Order 15(2) allows the government to determine its own order of business as it deems fit. So, does that mean that the government deciding that Parliament will sit for only one day with the agenda as so determined under the circumstances is Constitutional?