Although PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang does not prioritise a good attendance rate in Parliament, this appeared to have no impact on his Perikatan Nasional colleagues.
Based on the attendance record in the Hansard for the first Dewan Rakyat meeting of the year, PN lawmakers had the best turnout averaging 29.2 days out of 31.
At a 94.2 percent attendance rate, this is a drastic increase in attendance for PN MPs, up from 72.3 percent when Malaysiakini last conducted a similar study last September.
As for those on the government bench, their MPs averaged 27.4 days, which amounted to an attendance rate of 88.4 percent.
It should be noted that generally, the opposition bench will have a better attendance rate than the government because members of the executive are often absent unless they are required to answer questions.
Attendance started to appear in the Hansard in July 2021. However, attendance does not account for whether the MP was in the Dewan Rakyat the whole day or just one minute.
The sergeant-at-arms takes attendance at intervals and it is also recorded when MPs log on to their computers at their desks.
Within the PN coalition, PAS parliamentarians edged their Bersatu counterparts slightly in attendance.
Meanwhile, 97 MPs had perfect attendance.
PAS MPs had the most perfect attendance (31) - more than double that of Bersatu’s (11).
This means 72.1 percent of PAS MPs had perfect attendance, while DAP was at a distant second (52.5 percent).
The worst attendance record for individual parties went to MIC. Their sole MP had a dismal attendance of 15 out of 31 days or 48.4 percent.
Conversely, Muda - also with only one MP - is the only party with a 100 percent attendance rate.
PM in the House
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim only attended 17 out of the 31 days. It should be noted that he was involved in many foreign visits during the past few weeks.
However, Anwar missed only one Prime Minister Question (PMQ) session on Feb 28. The Prime Minister's Office did not respond to requests for comments.
Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin only attended 19 out of 31 days. At an attendance rate of 61.3 percent, it was significantly lower than 92.86 percent achieved by his predecessor - also Anwar - last year, a figure which watchdog MyMP described at the time as "exemplary".
It is understood that Hamzah was on medical leave from March 9 until 22.
Unfortunately for Anwar, his attendance rate placed him among the bottom 10 - in the same company as Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (15 out of 31), Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow (14 out of 31), and Hadi (12 out of 31).
GPS' Alexander Nanta Linggi only attended 11 out of 31 days, but the Kapit MP has been on medical leave since March 14 due to knee replacement surgery.
At the absolute bottom of the attendance rate list is Putatan MP Shahelmey Yahya (10 out of 31). He did not respond to requests for comments. He is also the Sabah deputy chief minister III.
Notably, PN chairperson and Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, who ranked last in attendance in the previous study, had a respectable attendance of 26 out of 31 days.
Note: The data for this article was created with the help of a program made freely available by Github user Thevesh, who is not liable for how the program is used. The full attendance data can be downloaded here. - Mkini
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