DR Mahathir Mohamad has joined the opposition in calling for the Dewan Rakyat to sit for at least two weeks in the May 18 session.

A joint statement from him and Pakatan Harapan and Warisan leaders said there is no excuse for the government to limit the session to only a day now that Putrajaya had eased shutdown restrictions with the conditional movement control order (CMCO).

“In view of the fact that parliament has set an SOP for the meeting  on May 18 and the fact that many activities are now allowed with conditions attached, there is no excuse or obstruction for parliament to be held for more than a day,” the statement said.

The statement was signed by former prime minister Dr Mahathir, Warisan president Mohd Shafie Apdal, PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

They said a longer meeting would allow issues to be debated and Putrajaya to carry out its legislative duties.

“We therefore call for the sitting to be held for at least two weeks,” they said in the statement.

Last Friday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced during that the movement control order would be relaxed to allow practically allow all economic activities to resume.

However, mass gatherings remain banned.

Parliament was to have held its first meeting of the year on May 18 for 15 days but the Covid-19 crisis prompted the government to cut it to just one day. – May 4, 2020.