Press conferences on Budget 2021 at single venue - Speaker

He said members of the Cabinet will be allowed to hold their press conferences first and followed by the government backbenchers.

“Then, I will invite the Opposition Leader and other opposition and Independent MPs to hold their press conferences at the same place.

“Due to COVID-19, reporters are prohibited from stopping the MPs for an interview at any corner or corridor. So, we will have the press conferences at a single venue,” he said after Question Time at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.

For the tabling of Budget 2021 tomorrow and throughout the current Dewan Rakyat session, only 80 MPs will be allowed to attend the sitting at any one time, and they should comprise 41 MPs from the government and 39 from the opposition and the Independents.

In reply to RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong) on the composition of MPs, Azhar said it was a consensus decision made by all party chief whips to reflect the majority at the Dewan Rakyat.

“Actually, there was a proposal for only two MPs from each party to be allowed to attend the sitting, but I was the one who fought for 100 people. After further discussion, there was a consensus decision to limit it to only 80 MPs.

“The composition applies only for attendance and debate sessions. Should there be a bloc voting, we have agreed to ring the bell for two minutes, followed by a 10-minute consolidation and the bell will be rung again for another two minutes so that all MPs could come into the hall and vote. So there will be no room for cheating and deception,” he said.

Meanwhile, Azhar also advised all MPs who had no urgent need to be elsewhere to stay put in Kuala Lumpur following the surge in the COVID-19 cases across the country.

He said the advice was also shared by Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

“This is for the good and wellbeing of all quarters so that we can all be spared from this deadly pandemic...you can return to respective constituencies if the need arises, but please follow the SOP (standard operating procedures),” he said.

When replying to Datuk Dr A. Xavier Jayakumar (PH-Kuala Langat) on why only certain media representatives were allowed to cover the Dewan Rakyat sitting, Azhar said the decision was made with the intention to ensure physical distancing in the media room.

He said apart from Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) and the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) which are the official media, the selection of media representative to cover the sitting was at the discretion of the Chief Administrator of Parliament.

The Dewan Rakyat sitting continues tomorrow with the tabling of Budget 2021.