Weekly review: Parliament passes eight bills

The bill was passed on Tuesday after 12 days of debate and winding up at the committee level which began on Nov 13 for each ministry.

During the week, the House also passed the Finance Bill 2024; Measures for the Collection, Administration and Enforcement of Tax Bill 2024; Labuan Business Activity Tax (Amendment) Bill (No.2) 2024 and Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board (Amendment) Bill 2024.

Other bills passed were the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) (Amendment) Bill 2024; the Syariah Court Civil Procedure (Federal Territories) (Amendment) Bill 2024 and the National Wage Consultative Council (Amendment) Bill 2024.

This week's sitting also saw the presence of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Minister's Question Time to respond to issues, including online fraud crimes and the current floods in the country.

The prime minister also took the opportunity to express his deepest gratitude to the government machinery, including the 80,000 civil servants who actively assisted flood victims across the country.

He acknowledged the strong cooperation among all parties as a positive sign in facing a catastrophe.

Meanwhile, three bills were tabled for the first reading during the week, namely the Legal Profession (Amendment) Bill 2024; the Communications and Multimedia (Amendment) Bill 2024 and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (Amendment) Bill 2024.

Additionally, the eighth week's sitting marked a significant milestone in institutional reform. For the first time, the chairmen of the Special Select Committees (JKPK) were given the platform to present and explain their respective committee statements.

The Special Select Committee on Domestic Trade, Entrepreneurship, Cost of Living and Agriculture, as well as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) tabled their respective statements.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul said the session was held to enhance public understanding of the JKPK's functions and roles in addressing current issues.

Another notable incident during the week's sitting is the suspension of Pendang Member of Parliament Datuk Awang Hashim from attending the Dewan Rakyat for 10 days starting yesterday, following a controversial statement he made against the Speaker on the TikTok platform on July 18.

Johari explained that the decision was made after multiple efforts to seek an apology and retraction from Awang, including a letter sent on July 22, were ignored.

"The statement and actions have insulted the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, who is elected under Article 47(1) of the Federal Constitution and carries out his responsibilities based on the Standing Orders of the Dewan Rakyat.

"The negative remarks on TikTok are not only a very serious allegation but also a violation of the rights and privileges of MPs and an affront to the dignity of this house," he said when chairing the Dewan Rakyat sitting yeterday.

The Third Meeting of the Third Term of the 15th Parliament runs for 35 days from Oct 14 to Dec 12.

-- BERNAMA