Action taken against absentees

Barisan MPs urged to be serious about attending Parliament sittings

BARISAN Nasional MPs have been advised to be serious about attending parliamentary sittings after a vote on funding for a ministry was won by a razor-thin majority on Monday, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The Deputy Prime Minister said internal actions had been taken against Barisan MPs who were absent during the bloc vote on the Budget 2018 allocation for the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry). Only 52 MPs voted for it. The opposition had 51 votes.

“Action has been taken, of course, against the absent MPs,” he said after launching the Halal Malaysia humanitarian mission for Rohingya refugees in Parliament.

It was not the first narrow miss for Barisan at the Dewan Rakyat.

Last month, Deputy Speaker Datuk Seri Ismail Mohamed Said had to announce a 10-minute postponement of proceedings when no ministers or deputy ministers were around to second a motion. This happened during the tabling of the Intellectual Property Corporation Malaysia (Amendment) Bill 2017.

Meanwhile, at the launch, Dr Ahmad Zahid thanked companies in the local halal industry who contributed 25 tonnes of food and basic items to the refugees who were at the Kutupalong camp in Bangladesh.

Multinationals including F&N Marketing Sdn Bhd, Nestle (M) Berhad, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad and Fortune Lab Sdn Bhd were among the contributors.

Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee, along with 12 MPs from both sides of the divide, will leave for Chittagong tomorrow, before going to the Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazaar.