Parliament: Emergency declaration issue to be raised Tuesday

KUALA LUMPUR: The question of whether the government intends to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to declare a state of emergency in the Gerik parliamentary constituency and Bugaya state constituency similar to what is being done in Batu Sapi is among matters that will be raised at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.

According to the Dewan Rakyat order papers, the matter is contained in the Minister’s Question Time in a question submitted by Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan (BN-Pontian) to the Prime Minister, as well as the rationale if implemented and issues pertaining to the voting rights of those in these constituencies.

Also in the same session, Teo Nie Ching (PH-Kulai) is scheduled to ask the Minister of Education about the effectiveness of TV Pendidikan and the number of students following the programmes, as well as whether the ministry has any plans to increase the TV Pendidikan broadcast time.

Apart from that, during the oral question-and-answer session, Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz (PAS-Bachok) will ask the Home Minister about the latest status of the construction of three vessels for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) which will be used to enhance its operations in the country’s waters to curb encroachment by foreign fishing boats.

Meanwhile, Datuk Mohamad Alamin (BN-Kimanis) is expected to ask the Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry to clarify the ministry's strategy and direction related to the country's imports and exports to further increase the confidence of foreign investors to invest in the country, especially in Sabah.

The sitting then continues with the winding-up of the policy-level debate for the Supply Bill 2021 by the ministries involved.

As at yesterday, the Prime Minister's Department and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry had already wound-up the debate on the bill.

Among the ministries scheduled to wind up the debate today are the Ministry of Defence; Ministry of Transport; Ministry of Environment and Water; Ministry of Human Resources and Ministry of Higher Education.

The current Dewan Rakyat sitting will take place for 27 days until Dec 15.

-- BERNAMA