Perak Sultan gives consent to DUN sitting - MB

IPOH: The Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah has given his consent to the reconvening of the Perak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) for four days starting August 25, said Menteri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad.

Saarani said the Perak ruler had also agreed to officiate the ceremony on the first day of the sitting.

"Yesterday I had an audience with the Sultan of Perak together with State Secretary Datuk Ahmad Suaidi Abdul Rahim and legal advisors. According to initial plans, the DUN sitting will be held physically, all elected representatives will attend, while department heads and observers will participate virtually.

"According to usual practice, the DUN session can be viewed on social media including Facebook and YouTube," he said during a virtual press conference today.

The media had reported that several states had announced their respective DUN sittings including Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Pahang and Terengganu.

Saarani said as the sitting would take place during the movement control under the National Recovery Plan, the state government would hold a meeting with security forces including the National Security Council (MKN) to seek advice on the compliance with standard operating procedures (SOPs) including the number of representatives allowed to attend, the physical distancing rule, the seat positions for the assemblymen as well as related SOPs.

"I hope that state assemblymen will share their views and thoughts during this upcoming DUN session, especially in relation to the collective effort to break the COVID-19 chain," he added.

On whether media practitioners would be allowed to cover the sitting, Saarani said he would seek advice from MKN and the Ministry of Health (MOH) regarding the matter.

Meanwhile, he said the Menteri Besar's office and the Perak Islamic Religious Department (JAIPk) are working together to produce videos on the basics of Fardhu Ain (KAFA) as home-based teaching and learning (PdPR) materials.

Saarani said the initiative under the Cikgu Saarani Tuition (TCS) programme would facilitate KAFA teachers in preparing teaching aids for KAFA Year One to Year Six students, adding 15 JAIPk officers and KAFA teachers were involved in creating the interactive videos which would be uploaded on social media.

Previously it was reported that over 200,000 students from poor families and the B40 segment received benefits under the TCS programme, initiated on Feb 3 this year.

-- BERNAMA