PARLIAMENT will resume on Monday with a single-day sitting.

It is the first sitting of the year and follows February’s political turmoil that saw the collapse of Pakatan Harapan elected in 2018.

Despite calls to hold a longer sitting or even to hold proceedings online as parliaments in other countries have done due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Perikatan Nasional is not budging.

The one-day sitting will be held only to hear the royal address.

Not even government matters on financing for Covid-19 mitigation measures will be raised, as announced yesterday by the Dewan Rakyat secretary and speaker’s office, which marks a change of course from the earlier agenda.

Parliament will then adjourn until the July sitting.

The unprecedented event has thrown up some facts that illustrate the state of Malaysian politics where the PN government is seen as trying to avoid a challenge to its legitimacy.

Although state assemblies have been known to hold only single-day sittings, this is a first in the national legislature.

Among the “firsts” the PN government will be charting include:

1. The Dewan Rakyat to sit for one day.

The only time Parliament was suspended was after the general election and race riots in May 13, 1969. Parliament was suspended as Malaysia entered a state of emergency.

In lieu of Parliament, Malaysia was governed by the National Operations Council. Although, the general election was held on May 10, 1969, Parliament only reconvened on February 20, 1971.

2. Ruling party’s (Bersatu) MPs might end up sitting on both aisles.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is Bersatu chairman and Langkawi MP, has signalled that he wants to sit with the opposition instead of the government.

Bersatu lawmakers who support him might conceivably want to do the same.

The decision, however, lies with Dewan Rakyat Speaker Mohamed Ariff Mohd Yusof, as traditionally MPs from the ruling party are seated behind the government of the day.

3. If this happens, this will be the first time 94-year-old Dr Mahathir will sit on the opposition bench since becoming MP on April 25, 1964.

He will also be the second former prime minister to have sat in the opposition bench after Najib Razak (Pekan).

4. The May 18 sitting will also mark the biggest opposition bench ever with 114 government MPs versus 108 opposition.

Government MPs will comprise Barisan Nasional (42), Bersatu (31), PAS (18), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (18), Gabungan Sabah (three) and two independents.

The opposition will be made up of PH (92), Parti Warisan Sabah (nine) , Dr Mahathir’s faction (five), Upko (one) and Sarawak United Party (PSB) (one).

5. The sitting will have seven former deputy prime ministers – Dr Mahathir, Anwar Ibrahim, Najib, Muhyiddin Yassin, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

6. The one-day sitting won’t see Dr Mahathir’s no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Muhyiddin in the Dewan Rakyat.

This follows the announcement by the speaker’s office’s on the prime minister’s instructions to limit the sitting to only the royal address.

Dr Mahathir’s motion was accepted earlier and is not the first time such a motion has been brought against a prime minister.

Third prime minister Hussein Onn also faced a no-confidence motion put up by a senator from his party, Umno, when he took over in 1975.

Subsequently, Wan Azizah and former PJ Selatan MP Hee Loy Sian also put up confidence motions against then prime minister Najib in 2015 in the 13th Parliament. The motions, however, never made it to the floor.

7. This will also be the first time that a sitting is off-limits to the media, other than official media, Bernama and RTM.

Social distancing is cited as reason because of the Covid-19 outbreak but the opposition and civil society have criticised the decision, saying solutions can be found and that media should be allowed to perform their duty. – May 14, 2020.