Participate in in-depth debate on Royal Address, avoid mockery - Fahmi

KUALA LUMPUR: All Members of Parliament (MPs) are expected to participate in an in-depth debate on the Royal Address by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at the opening of the First Meeting of the Second Session of the 15th Parliament today.

Minister of Communications and Digital Fahmi Fadzil said the MPs, both from the government and the opposition, should make optimal use of the debate session to give their inputs to help the people and develop the nation.

In fact, he said the opposition MPs could also provide constructive criticism as checks and balances to the government.

"I hope the content of the Royal Address can be comprehended, understood in depth and further discussed.

"I hope our MPs can play their roles in the debate, avoid mockery, think about the people, and talk about policies that can help develop the country," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby here.

Fahmi said for his ministry, he said digital connectivity and efforts to amend the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 should be among the topics given attention by the MPs.

In the Royal Address earlier, Al-Sultan Abdullah said, among others, that digital connectivity was among the most important foundation for the development of a nation with a digital ecosystem.

As such, His Majesty said the National Digital Network (Jendela) initiative has been formed to expedite the development of the country's digital infrastructure so that the people could enjoy the opportunities that will be created by the technology and further support the country's digital economic development agenda.

According to the Parliament calendar, the Dewan Rakyat will sit from today until March 30 with the debate on the Royal Address to run for five days from tomorrow before the winding up session by ministers on Feb 22 and 23.

-- BERNAMA