PH insists on special Dewan Rakyat sitting to debate Covid-19 issues

(FMT) – Pakatan Harapan (PH) is insisting on a special parliamentary session to discuss the Covid-19 issue before the Dewan Rakyat convenes on May 18.

In a statement, PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said this was necessary for check and balance, a pillar of democracy.

“If the government refuses to hold a special parliamentary session, the PH presidential council is of the view that the sitting on May 18 needs to be held for at least two days to give room to MPs to debate issues related to the pandemic.”

PH said the Parliamentary Standing Orders Committee needed to meet urgently to discuss measures to tailor the standing orders to the health ministry’s advice and instructions to ensure the safety of MPs and Parliament staff.

This, the coalition said, included the suitability of having online parliamentary sittings as some countries were doing.

“Therefore, we also propose a meeting between the Dewan Rakyat speaker, a government representative and PH’s chief secretary Saifuddin Nasution to discuss these matters urgently.”

Previously, DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang had called for a two-day emergency meeting of Parliament to approve the government’s RM250 billion economic stimulus package and debate the “earliest possible re-start of the Malaysian economic engine”.