Face masks, sanitisers new norm for MPs
KUALA LUMPUR: All 222 members of parliament will return to the august house with their face masks on when the second meeting for the third term of the 14th Parliament commences today.
The compulsory requirement for members of parliament to wear face masks, apart from using hand sanitisers upon entering the Parliament complex, was among guidelines outlined in the standard operating procedure (SOP) for parliamentary sitting, which was approved during the meeting of the Special Ministerial Committee on the Movement Control Order (MCO) on July 7.
According to the SOP, which is available on Parliament’s website, similar requirements also applied to all government officials and members of the media who will be present at the complex to cover the sitting, which will be held for 25 days until Aug 27.
All those involved, including members of parliament, government officials and members of the media, need to register via the MySejahtera application and undergo a temperature screening before entering the complex.
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said only members of parliament and officials were allowed to enter the meeting hall, while newsmen and civil servants were allowed only in the Parliament building.
The SOP also stated that all members of parliament, their officers and others involved were not allowed to gather or assemble outside the meeting hall.
Similar to the first meeting, which was conducted for only one day on May 18 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the rule of social distancing of at least one metre would be enforced.
It was learnt that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin met members of parliament from Perikatan Nasional yesterday at Dewan De’ Seri Endon in Putrajaya ahead of the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara sitting.
Pakatan Harapan also conducted its pre-Parliament meeting on the same day.
“Finished attending the PH pre-parliamentary meeting today (yesterday),” said PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in a post on his Twitter account yesterday.
“(During the meeting) We had discussed issues that should be given priority during the first day of the second meeting of the third term of the 14th Parliament.”
The post was accompanied by a picture of Pakatan Harapan members of parliament who attended the meeting.
Among them were PKR Advisory Council chairman Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and Parti Amanah Negara strategy director Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
Langkawi member of parliament Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and five other members of parliament aligned with him were not seen in the picture as they have declared that they had formed an independent bloc together with Parti Warisan Sabah.
As at press time, Parliament had yet to release and update the seating arrangement of the members of parliament in the Dewan Rakyat on its official website.
The seating arrangement is expected to change with the decision by Sri Gading member of parliament Datuk Dr Shahruddin Md Salleh, who announced his resignation as deputy works minister early last month, and the move by Dr Mahathir and five other members of parliament aligned with him to be in the independent bloc.
Apart from Shahruddin, other members of parliament aligned with Dr Mahathir are Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir (Jerlun), Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah (Kubang Pasu), Dr Maszlee Malik (Simpang Renggam) and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muar).
Lubok Antu member of parliament Jugah Muyang, who left PKR on June 5, had previously said he would remain as an independent member of parliament, but pledged his support for PN.
Meanwhile, Parliament, through its Instagram account, said a 40-member Hazardous Material Unit team from the Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department yesterday carried out sanitation operations at the main block of the complex, which houses the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara, ahead of today’s sitting.
Source: NST
