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KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR / ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Malaysian opposition MPs left Parliament on Monday (December 14) after three MPs currently in home quarantine were allowed to participate in a vote on the budget.
All three MPs, Health Minister Adham Baba and Mr M. Saravanan from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and Mr P. Prabakaran from the opposition Pakatan Harapan, had appeared in Parliament wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).
Dressed in all-white aprons, along with blue shower caps and visors, they sat on the highest floor of the House, away from all the other deputies.
A protest by opposition MPs against Dewan Rakyat’s chairman Azhar Azizan Harun’s decision to let the trio in, erupted into a shouting match.
“What reasons are there for these MPs to be present in Parliament when they have been classified as close contacts (of positive Covid-19 cases)?” Kuala Langat MP Xavier Jayakumar from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) asked Datuk Azhar, The Malay Mail reported.
In response, Azhar said he was making an exception this time because instead of having a rogue deputy breaking quarantine rules in the House, “it is better that I regulate this vote.” He is believed to be referring to Batu MP P. Prabakaran, who attended Parliament to vote on another budget bill last Thursday (December 10) despite being ordered to stay home.
Most of the opposition deputies from the PKR and the Democratic Action Party (DAP) left the bloc, voting in defiance on Monday.
Subsequently, Monday’s bill on the budget of the Federal Territories Ministry was approved, with 110 deputies voted in favor, seven against, 31 abstentions and 72 absent.
Budget allocations for two more ministries, Defense and Interior, are scheduled to be debated and approved in Parliament at the commission stage on Monday. The committee stage discussions for the 2021 Budget will take place until Tuesday (December 15).
On Monday, Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong shared images of the three MPs dressed in full PPE on Facebook.
“It is a new rule in the Dewan Rakyat! All three had asked permission from the director general of health to attend the voting session in Parliament,” said Wee.
Article 62 of the Constitution establishes that “absent members of a Chamber may not vote.”
On Saturday, the Office of the President sent a letter to all the deputies indicating that those who want to participate in the bloc vote of the Budget 2021 must obtain the approval of the director general of health.
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