YANG di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah is set to officiate the opening of the First Meeting of the Second Term of the 15th Parliament on Monday, the second under the administration led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

The first Dewan Rakyat sitting under the unity government that was held on December 19 and lasted for two days saw the tabling of a motion of confidence to determine the legitimacy of Anwar’s appointment as the 10th prime minister and a mini budget.

According to the parliament calendar, among the highlights of the sitting, which will last for 29 days (until March 30), are the debate on the royal address from February 15 to 21, as well as the re-tabling of the Supply Bill 2023 by Anwar, who is also finance minister, February 24.

The bill will then be debated at the policy level for six days starting on February 27, after which two days (March 8-9) will be allotted to ministers to give their replies before it is debated at the committee level from March 13 to 28.

Anwar, when addressing the Finance Ministry’s monthly meeting on February 8, was reported to have said that Budget 2023 would take into account the current economic challenges while at the same time drive the country’s growth and attract investments.

Also on the cards is the tabling of a white paper on the procurement of the Covid-19 vaccine which was found not to be not adhering to procedure.

In addition, a white paper on Batu Puteh is also expected to be tabled at this Parliament session for further action.

The coming Dewan Rakyat sitting will also see the implementation of the reform agenda, including a prime minister’s question and answer session, which will be carried out as a pilot test every Tuesday beginning February 13.

In a recent interview with Bernama, Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul said the session was to enable the Prime Minister to answer questions that are addressed to him.

He said the introduction of the session will require amendments to the standing order of the Dewan Rakyat before it can be made a regular session at the lower house.

Johari added that the Special Chamber session will also be improved by increasing the number of motions from two to four per session. – Bernama, February 11, 2023.