Agong arrives for Parliament opening ceremony

KUALA LUMPUR: Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah arrived at the Parliament Building at about 10 am to open the First Meeting of the Fourth Term of the 14th Parliament.

On arrival of His Majesty, who was welcomed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Dewan Negara President Tan Sri Rais Yatim and Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun, the national anthem was played before Al-Sultan Abdullah left for the Royal Rest Room.

His Majesty will then deliver the Royal Decree.

Based on the calendar of the Dewan Rakyat meeting, this session will be for 17 days until Oct 12, while the Dewan Negara will continue its sitting from Oct 4 to 26.

This parliament session is expected to focus on issue of the country's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the tabling of the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMK12), as well as on parliamentary reform.

The Parliament sitting has been postponed since the beginning of this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which also saw the declaration of a state of emergency for the whole country from Jan 12 until Aug 1 in an effort to curb the spread of the epidemic.

-- BERNAMA