KUCHING, Feb 28: There will be no special parliament session to determine who will be the next prime minister on March 2.
Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat Tan Sri Dato Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof, in an official media statement today, informed that the notice letter calling for the special sitting signed by interim Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad did not conform to Parliament Standing Orders 11(3).
“I have received the notice letter informing that the government had agreed to call the Dewan Rakyat for a meeting on March 2, 2020.
“However, I discovered that the notice letter did not conform to Standing Order 11(3), as a comprehensive parliamentary motion was not submitted.
“According to Standing Order 11(3), notice and date of sitting will be issued by the Speaker. But as of now, no notice has been issued,” he said.
Standing Orders 11(3) reads: “If, during an adjournment of the House, it is represented to Tuan Yang di-Pertua by the Prime Minister that the public interest requires that the House should meet at an earlier date than that to which the House was adjourned, Tuan Yang di-Pertua shall give notice thereof forthwith and the House shall meet at the time stated in such notice. The business set down for that day shall be appointed by the Prime Minister and notice thereof shall be circulated not later than the time of meeting.”
Furthermore, Mohamad Ariff also stated that the need to convene a special Parliament session should be decided after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has made an official announcement on the process of deciding the prime minister.
“I will continue to monitor the current development and follow-up statement regarding the notice and the date of the special Parliament session will be announced later,” he added. —DayakDaily
