14th Parliament to sit for first meeting of fourth term today

KUALA LUMPUR: The First Meeting of the Fourth Term of the 14th Parliament will unveil its curtains today and will be opened by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.

This parliamentary session is the first under the government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

According to the Order of the Meeting on the Parliament's official website, today's sitting of the Dewan Rakyat will focus on the speech by Al-Sultan Abdullah.

Based on the calendar of the Dewan Rakyat meeting, this session will be for 17 days until Oct 12.

Meanwhile, the Dewan Negara sitting, to be opened simultaneously with the Dewan Rakyat sitting, will take place from October 4 to 26.

To reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection in the Parliament building, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun said various initiatives had been carried out, including the installation of ultra violet air filters in the main hall of Parliament and the use of nanotechnology in the office to kill bacteria and viruses.

Apart from that, the Health Ministry also carried out RT-PCR screening tests on all staff and those attending the meeting, involving 1,801 individuals, last Sept 10 and 11.

Yesterday, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said 26 of the Individuals who underwent the screening test were found positive for COVID-19, involving a senator and 25 parliamentary staff.

-- BERNAMA