Expect some ‘fireworks’ in upcoming parliamentary sitting — MP

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Larry Sng

MIRI: Heated debates will be expected in the upcoming Dewan Rakyat, scheduled to commence this Monday (July 13) and run for 25 working days.

Julau MP, who is Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak chief, regards the next sitting as the first to have members from the ruling coalition, Perikatan Nasional (PN) and the opposition cross words, despite the session having been preceded by a one-day sitting on May 18 this year.

“This will be the first sitting in Parliament where we will debate the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong’s speech, and also highlight issues on Covid 19.

“I expect there would be heated debates throughout the whole sitting,” he told The Borneo Post when asked about what to expect in the next Dewan Rakyat sitting.

Regarding the much-talked-about vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Sng said he was unsure whether or not the Pakatan Harapan (PH) would proceed with it, although former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had filed a motion for it in the last sitting.

Many Malaysian and foreign political observers view the upcoming sitting as a test of leadership for Muhyiddin since becoming Prime Minister in March.

His predecessor Dr Mahathir, who turned 95 yesterday, had made it ‘quite clear’ that he intended to bring down the current government under PN – a federal coalition that includes Barisan Nasional (BN), Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), and Sarawak’s state ruling coalition, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), among other component parties.

Dr Mahathir quit as Bersatu chairman on Feb 24, not long after submitting his resignation as prime minister to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.

It is said that the action was meant as a protest against Muhyiddin, who was Bersatu president, over the decision to leave PH and work with the opposition, including Umno, in a new government.

By then, PH had begun to collapse due to internal conflict over the succession plan for prime ministership, whereby many were expecting Dr Mahathir to announce when he would step aside for PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, but the former never did.

For Anwar, the PH presidential council had announced that it would back him as the coalition’s prime minister candidate.