THE government is looking into holding a hybrid Parliament session, which will involve some lawmakers present in the debating chamber with others joining virtually, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Takiyuddin Hassan said today.

According to Takiyuddin, he was part of a meeting today with the speakers and deputy speakers of the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara to discuss the matter.

“We agreed in principle with the concept of a hybrid Parliament session which involves some lawmakers being present physically, while others joining the meeting online.

“We also agreed to urgently study this matter in depth and prepare a full working paper to be presented for cabinet discussion and approval,” he said.

On Monday, Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Azalina Othman Said, in a continuing battle to get Parliament to convene under the emergency, highlighted a letter from the speaker of the British House of Commons, who had urged parliamentarians to play a role in ensuring its functions 

The Umno MP for Pengerang had twice written open letters addressed to the government on the need for parliament to convene even if the nation is under an emergency to fight the pandemic.

In her second letter last week, she suggested numerous standard operating procedures that could be used for MPs to convene, including by holding virtual sessions.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, in announcing the emergency in January, said both parliament and state assemblies would be suspended during the emergency to allow the government to concentrate on fighting the pandemic.

The opposition as well as Umno, which is in the ruling Perikatan Nasional pact, have called on the government to convene the parliament so that matters concerning battling the Covid-19 pandemic can be discussed and implemented effectively.

The King had said in February that parliament can be allowed to reconvene even during the Emergency

However, Takiyuddin had then said the major concern was the health of MPs during this pandemic.

Earlier today, Home Minister Hamzah Zainuddin said Parliament can convene once herd immunity against Covid-19 is achieved.

He said calls for Parliament to sit will only result in more infections. – June 4, 2021.