DESPITE the first sitting of the third Dewan Rakyat meeting being cut short, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah believes that it will not affect parliamentary debates.
“I believe even if the time is shortened, it will not affect the debates.
“Because I am sure our MPs are seasoned enough to use the best of the time that is being allocated,” said the Communications and Multimedia Minister after his visit to Parliament’s media room yesterday.
The first day of the Dewan Rakyat ended at 1pm after news of individuals including a senator’s aide tested positive for Covid-19.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said the decision to shorten the time for the sitting was following advice from the Health Ministry.
Saifuddin said it was similar when the Dewan Rakyat Speaker introduced a time limit for lawmakers to debate and ministers to reply.
“During the first few days, everybody felt awkward. But after some time we learnt how to be economical with words,” he said.
Asked to comment on the several motions of no confidence by lawmakers on the leadership of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Saifuddin said there had been changes on the matter.
“I think there had been some positive changes compared to the time when people were submitting a motion of no confidence, and with what had happened in the last few days. People are more positive and let’s continue to be positive,” he said without elaborating.
He said the main focus now was the upcoming Budget 2021 to be tabled on Nov 6.
“The Finance Minister had a productive discussion with various political parties, including the Opposition, a few days ago,” he said.
Almost half of the 64 motions during the current Dewan Rakyat meeting are related to confidence on Muhyiddin’s leadership.
A total of 27 motions are listed in the Parliament’s Order Paper. Of the 25 motions of no confidence, 11 are from Parti Amanah Negara, five from Independents who were formerly with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, seven from Parti Warisan Sabah and one each from PKR and DAP.
Source: the star