Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan has taken a swipe at Digital and Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil over criticisms against the absence of top Perikatan Nasional (PN) leaders in Parliament, particularly during the Prime Minister’s Question Time (PMQT) every Tuesday.
Defending the absence of opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, Wan Saiful said improvements must be made to the PMQT, including on questions that can be asked.
"Actually, during PMQT, only the MP called by the speaker can stand to ask a question. The rest will not be allowed to interject.
"Speaker will also only allow one supplementary question from the original MP and one more additional question from the opposing bench," said Wan Saiful in a Facebook post.
"That means, if it was my turn to ask the initial question, I have one more supplementary question and then another government MP can ask a question. That's all.
"How good would it be if this session is improved to be like Westminster's PMQT where the opposition leader is given a slot to question the prime minister?"
‘Wrong perception’
Earlier, Fahmi took a jab at the absent leaders as he uploaded a photograph of their empty chairs in the august House, saying it was a shame they were not around to face Anwar during the question time.
In response, Wan Saiful accused Fahmi of creating a "wrong perception" as he argued the current format means the leaders will still have no opportunity to question Anwar even if they were present.
"Don't give the impression as if during the PMQT, the opposition leader or party leaders can ask questions. They can't.
"Don't create a wrong perception," he stressed.
Wan Saiful also claimed Anwar failed to give satisfactory answers to questions posed, with lengthy but empty responses.
"The focus should be on the quality of answers from the prime minister.
"If the answers given are of low quality, then, of course, there will be low interest to listen," he claimed.
Just before the 15th general election last November, Malaysiakini pointed to the poor attendance rate in the Dewan Rakyat of Muhyiddin, Hadi, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and Warisan president Shafie Apdal.
It was reported that in the five sessions of the Dewan Rakyat from July 2021 to March 2022, Hadi attended 21 out of the 71 days, Shafie only showed up on 20 days, Muhyiddin attended 17, and Mahathir was present for 26. - Mkini
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