KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 – Only one elected representative from the opposition, Er Teck Hwa (photo) , the DAP Member of Parliament for Bakri, Johor was present at the briefing session for the 13th Parliament session which is scheduled to begin on June 24.
Their absence raised questions especially to the more than 100 Members of Parliament from the Barisan Nasional (BN).
When asked by reporters, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia merely said that they were absent because they possibly had more important matters to attend to as their presence at the briefing was not compulsory.
In the 13th general election recently, the Barisan Nasional won 133 seats while the DAP 38, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) 30 and PAS 21.
When approached, Er, who retained his seat in the last election, said he was present because he wanted to know about the guidelines and conditions to be implemented at the Parliamentary session this time.
“I came today because I was invited and I believe the briefing today is important, (so) I came personally. Don’t misunderstand, because possibly the (other) Pakatan Rakyat Members of Parliament (MPs) had other activities.
“If the other Pakatan Rakyat MPs were absent, it’s up to them, but I feel this is important,” he said.
The opposition leaders were earlier reported to boycott the 13th Parliament session which would begin on June 24 because, among other things, they were not satisfied with the results of the last general election.
Meanwhile, the MP for Ayer Hitam, Datuk Dr Ir Wee Ka Siong, who would be sitting next to Er, praised the attitude of the member for Bakri who was present today.
“I was touched when the MP for Bakri attended today although the PR (opposition pact) had said they wanted to boycott. But we respect the decision of the Bakri MP. We should take this opportunity to attend the orientationcourse,” he said.
The briefing session was conducted by Dewan Rakyat Secretary Datuk Roosme Hamzah and the Chief Administrator of the Malaysian Parliament, Datuk Lamien Sabiyo.
Among the ministers who attended were Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, Second Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim.
– BERNAMA
