'Hybrid' parliament committee to meet on July 5

 

The committee to “study” ways to conduct a “hybrid” Parliament sitting will be meeting on July 5.

Pakatan Harapan’s representative on the committee Nga Kor Ming said he had received an invitation from Dewan Rakyat speaker Azhar Azizan Harun to join the committee's meeting.

Nga, the Teluk Intan MP and former deputy Dewan Rakyat speaker, is Harapan’s sole representative on the committee.

It is uncertain if any other opposition MPs were invited.

Apart from Azhar, other committee members include Dewan Negara president Rais Yatim, a minister from the Prime Minister’s Department, both deputy speakers of the Dewan Rakyat and Parliament’s chief administrators.

The goal of the committee is to establish how Parliament can be convened with a mix of in-person and online participation.

Both Azhar and Rais yesterday pledged to have Parliament sit by the first week of September at the earliest.

Nga said in a statement that Parliament should convene much earlier out of respect for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Conference of Rulers who want a sitting "as soon as possible".

Hence, said Nga, committee meetings on how to convene a “hybrid” Parliament will cause unnecessary delays.

“It is obvious the Perikatan Nasional government is suffering from a case of ‘Parliament phobia’,” said Nga. - Mkini