Speaker’s call to name and shame absent MPs, says Anwar

November 7, 2023

Speaker’s call to name and shame absent MPs, says Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: The naming and shaming of absentee MPs is up to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“I leave it to the discretion of the Speaker,” he told reporters after launching the Malaysian Digital Expo 2023 Grand Finale here on Monday (Nov 6).

Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul has proposed that the names of MPs found to be deliberately absent from Parliamentary sittings will be displayed on the Dewan Rakyat website

This, he said, will allow their respective constituents to be aware of the matter.

Johari said this was among measures being taken to boost the attendance of MPs during Dewan Rakyat sittings.

Proceedings had been temporarily halted three times since March due to a lack of quorum in the august House.
The first time in March saw only 24 MPs present, causing proceedings to be halted for two minutes.

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A similar situation occurred on Oct 19.

On Wednesday (Nov 1), proceedings were again temporarily halted to allow MPs to enter the august House to ensure sufficient quorum.

Under Standing Order 13, there must be at least 26 MPs in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat for proceedings to go on.