Opposition gets 14 hours to scrutinise government policies at Parliament meeting
The opposition has been allocated 14 hours for its response when the new Cabinet delivers the government’s policy statement to Parliament next Monday and Tuesday (Sept 11-12).
Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha said on Thursday that a joint meeting of representatives from the government, the opposition, and senators agreed that total of 29 hours would be shared among the parties involved during the two days of the meeting.
It was agreed that of the 29 hours, Cabinet members would get five hours to deliver their policy statement, MPs from ruling coalition parties and senators would also get five hours each, and 14 hours would go to opposition MPs to scrutinise the government policies.
An extra hour was allocated for the meeting of chairpersons to maintain order and rules, according to Wan Noor, who also doubles as the speaker of the House of Representatives.
He said on Thursday that the meeting would start at 9am and end before midnight on Tuesday as the Cabinet members were scheduled to have their first official meeting on Wednesday (Sept 13) morning.
As per the Constitution, a new Cabinet must be sworn in before His Majesty the King and deliver its policy statement before Parliament to officially take up their duties.
Wan Noor said on Thursday that there would be no extra security measures in the Parliament complex during the upcoming meeting on the government’s policy statement. He believed there would be no protesters and that the meeting would continue without any serious event.
He said that the public could follow the proceedings through live broadcasts via many television stations and media outlets.
Meanwhile, senior Pheu Thai MP Adisorn Piengkes, who has assumed the role of chief coalition whip, said on Thursday that he was confident opposition MPs would not turn the upcoming meeting into a censure debate against the new Cabinet. He said their representatives at Thursday’s meeting had promised that opposition MPs would focus on scrutinising the government’s policies based on their feasibility and budget.
