Parliament will not reconvene on March 8 - Deputy Speaker

KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon has clarified that Parliament will not reconvene on March 8 as reported by several media agencies, as the original calendar is no longer valid with the enforcement of the Emergency Ordinance.

He said in order to call for a Parliament sitting, it must be done according to Section 14(1)(b) of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 which stated that the Parliament shall be summoned, prorogued and dissolved on a date as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong thinks appropriate.

“Then, other procedures need to be done, including the proclamation of the prorogue and calling for the 14th Parliament (to reconvene).

“It should be reminded that the notice from the Dewan Rakyat secretary to members of Parliament (on the meeting dates) alone is (at least) 28 days (before the commencement of each Parliament session),” he said in a Twitter posting last night.

Last Wednesday, Istana Negara in a statement said that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah has expressed the view that Parliament may convene during the Emergency period on a date deemed appropriate by His Majesty, based on the advice of the prime minister.

According to the Comptroller of the Royal Household of Istana Negara Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, the matter was enshrined in subparagraph 14(1)(b) of the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance 2021 which states that Parliament should be called, prorogued and dissolved on a date as deemed appropriate by His Majesty on the advice of the prime minister.

-- BERNAMA