Conflict between current, former minister causes heated debate in Parliament

A total of 26 ministries completed winding up the debate on the motion of thanks for the royal address by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong during Parliament sitting this week, with several important decisions also announced.

The highlights included on the death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim, whereby the investigation paper had been referred back to the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) last July 23, along with several suggestions.

The suggestions included for the 12 suspects who were previously believed to be involved in the firefighter’s death on Dec 17, 2018, to be charged under Section 143 of the Penal Code.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin also proposed to reopen the inquest on Muhammad Adib’s death, if agreed by the Attorney-General.

The Parliament was also told that the government is in the process of finalising the alignment of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong, in response to a question from Datuk Jalaluddin Alias (Jelebu-BN), said there would be changes on the new ECRL alignment as announced by the previous Pakatan Harapan government.

He said the reason being that the government had to consider several factors such as the project’s viability, rail connectivity and financial implications before approval is given for the new alignment.

Minister of Environment and Water Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man informed Parliament on the cancellation of the proposed Transboundary Haze Pollution Bill formulated by the previous PH government after taking into account Singapore's experience and feedback from legal experts, including the Attorney General's Chambers.

Meanwhile, the Parliament session this week was slightly tainted with incidence of not enough quorum, forcing the Parliament to adjourn the sitting for a while during the winding-up by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.

A verbal exchange also broke out when some of the opposition members claimed that the Speaker was biased during the winding up by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.

The highlight of the week included the winding up by several ministries which witnessed heated debates between the current ministers and ministers under the previous PH government, such as between Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz and former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

The winding up session involving ministers in the Prime Ministers Department will continue during the fifth week of sitting next week.