Special meeting agenda only related to floods, not Azam Baki issue - Speaker

KUALA LUMPUR: The Special Meeting of Dewan Rakyat today did not debate the motion on issues related to share ownership of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki as it was not listed in the Order Paper.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun said he received notices of the motion from Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub (PH-Pulai) and Nga Kor Ming (PH-Teluk Intan) for the matter to be discussed at a special meeting of the Dewan Rakyat today. However, the agenda of the special meeting today was set by the prime minister.

Azhar said he had not received any notice from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to include the issue, therefore it was not included in the Order Paper.

"I acknowledge receiving the motions (from Salahuddin and Kor Ming) two days ago and I have replied that today's special session was called by the Prime Minister according to the Dewan Rakyat Standing Orders 11 (3). The Prime Minister has the absolute power to decide on the agenda for today's special sitting.

"Therefore, I have no authority to accept the motion. Today's agenda is set by the Prime Minister, but as of today, I did not receive any notice for the motion to be included. Therefore I assumed that it would not be included in today's agenda and the sitting will have to be conducted in accordance with the Order paper," he said at the Dewan Rakyat today.

Earlier, the two MPs who submitted the notices rose and asked for the motion to be considered for debate as it also touched on national issues, namely the integrity of the MACC and civil servants.

After Azhar gave his recommendation, Gobind Singh Deo (PH-Puchong) rose and asked Ismail Sabri to be present to hear the ministry's explanation on the flood issue and also the issue of Azam's trading account which would be raised by the opposition afterwards.

"Will the Prime Minister be present after his explanation to hear our questions? The questions will also refer to Tan Sri Azam Baki. This is a very important matter. We will discuss the flood issue and raise the MACC issue too. Can I get a recommendation from the Prime Minister and the Speaker?" he asked.

Today's special meeting discussed matters related to the national interest, namely floods, post-flood, coordination of assistance to Malaysian families and a long-term flood disaster management plan.

-- BERNAMA