By Nancy Nais
KUCHING, May 10: There will be no debate for the two Supplementary Supply (2019) Bill, 2020, which will be tabled at the one-day State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting tomorrow.
Speaker Datuk Amar Mohd Asfia Awang Nassar said second finance minister, Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, will table the bills under Standing Order 68(1), which reads under Article 33(4) of the Constitution of the State of Sarawak, that a bill may be introduced to authorise expenditure for a part of a financial year.
“Further under Standing Order 67(2), every supplementary estimate of ordinary or development expenditure shall be laid upon the table before the sitting at which the Supplementary Supply Bill is to be introduced.
“Therefore, the Supplementary Supply Bill is legitimate within the purview and parameters of the State Constitution and within the ambit of the Standing Orders.
“I would like to emphatically and categorically state that unlike a Supply Bill, in the Supplementary Bill, there is no debate at the second reading and committee stage.
“Under Standing Orders 67(4) and 67(7), it stated that there shall be no debate allowed in the introduction and reading of the Supplementary Supply Bill,” Mohd Asfia told a press conference here today.
Since the sitting is only for a day, he added that there will be no questions and answers session in the chambers as well.
As for private member’s motion, Mohd Asfia said the DUN office did not receive any under Standing Order 23, as of the closing date on April 30.
“There will be no Motion of Adjournment by the assistant minister but the speaker will just conclude the sitting ‘sine die’,” he added. — DayakDaily
