NEWLY registered Pejuang may not attend Parliament’s special sitting at the end of this month if it’s just a one-sided briefing session, Dr Mahathir Mohamad said. 

“If it’s just a briefing session that uses the Parliament halls, we may not attend,” said the Pejuang chairman during an online press conference today. 

He said that Parliament sittings have certain rules and the “special meeting” announced by the Prime Minister’s Office last week appears to be only a briefing session. 

He said that briefing sessions were not Parliament sittings where lawmakers would be allowed to present motions and debate the Emergency Ordinance. 

“And if the ordinance is only to be debated on August 2 (the last day of the five-day meeting), it would be meaningless as the emergency would have ended on August 1. 

“The government wants to give a briefing. We don’t need the government to tell us things we already know. They are lying to the public that this July meeting is a Parliament sitting,” said the Langkawi MP.

Pejuang has four lawmakers. 

Earlier today Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun issued a statement to say that the Fourth Meeting of the 14th Parliament will only commence on September 6. 

In the statement, Azhar said the official opening of the meeting by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong would be held on September 6 at 10am. 

He also said that Parliament’s first meeting this year would be for 15 days from September 6 to 30 while the second meeting will be from October 25 till December 16 (32 days). 

In a separate statement Azhar said that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had also instructed Parliament to hold a special meeting beginning July 26. 

“For this purpose, I was informed that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has agreed to this although the emergency order is still in force,” said Azhar. 

“As such, Parliament will inform the MPs that Dewan Rakyat will meet from July 26 to August 2 for five days.” 

On June 6, Yang di-Pertuan Agong told the Perikatan Nasional government to let Parliament meet as soon as possible.

Opposition MPs have urged the government to allow them to debate the ordinance as well as on the government’s efforts in battling Covid-19 during this five-day sitting. – July 15, 2021.