Bersatu Terengganu chief joins list of Harapan's senators

Bersatu Terengganu chief Razali Idris has joined the list of new senators from Pakatan Harapan to be sworn in today, according to a parliamentary notice.

According to a notice from the parliament's media office, Razali was appointed by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V.

In the 14th general election, Razali contested and lost the Hulu Terengganu parliament seat to Umno's Rosol Wahid.

The notice also stated Amanah's vice-president Husam Musa will only be sworn-in at a later date. It is understood that Husam is currently still in Mecca after performing the Haj.

In total, twelve new senators will be sworn in this morning, 11 of whom are from Harapan. The twelfth is from Parti Warisan Sabah.

Including Husam, this will raise the number of Dewan Negara members to 68, with two more vacancies left.

Harapan will still not be able to command the majority in the Senate despite the new appointments.

Of the current 55 senators, 32 are from BN and three from PAS, against 20 from Harapan. The new appointments will close the gap with 32 Harapan senators and one Warisan.

Last week, the Dewan Negara passed the repeal of the Goods and Services Tax Bill (GST) and the bills on the Sales and Services Tax (SST) after BN senators gave in.

This week the House is expected to debate the Anti-Fake News (Repeal) Bill 2018, Supply (Reallocation of Appropriated Expenditure) Bill 2018, Land Public Transport Commission (Repeal) Bill and Land Public Transport (Amendment) Bill 2018. - Mkini