Speaker: March 9 Dewan Rakyat sitting moved to May 18

The Dewan Rakyat sitting originally scheduled to start on March 9 has been postponed to May 18, according to Speaker Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof.

Malay-daily Berita Harian quoted Ariff (above) as saying that he had received a response from Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin last night, regarding a new date for the third meeting of the 14th Parliament session.

"The letter has been received last night. A press statement will be issued by Parliament this morning.

"There will be no sitting on March 9. The new date for the Parliament's opening ceremony is on May 18," Ariff reportedly told Berita Harian.

In a statement later, Ariff said the third meeting will proceed for 15 days from May 18 to June 23, with a break for Hari Raya celebrations from May 26 to May 28.

There will also be no sitting on June 1 and June 2 for the Hari Gawai celebration, as well as on June 8, to mark the birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Subsequently, Ariff said the Dewan Rakyat will reconvene for 17 days from July 27 to Aug 27, with Aug 6 set as the date to table the 12th Malaysia Plan.

Meanwhile, he said the final Dewan Rakyat session for the year will go on for 36 days from Sept 28 to Nov 26, and the annual budget will be tabled on Oct 2 by the finance minister.

The Dewan Rakyat was initially scheduled to sit from March 9 to April 16, with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah gracing the opening ceremony.

Sources however previously indicated that the sitting would be postponed to allow Muhyiddin time to appoint his cabinet line-up.

"Questions for this Parliament sitting were submitted earlier so time is needed to alter the order paper and also the questions will now be answered by new cabinet ministers,” said the source.

After the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government following a week of political uncertainties, the now federal opposition coalition has indicated that a vote of no confidence is likely to be tabled against Muhyiddin in the upcoming Dewan Rakyat session.